Savages
by GrassTrainer
Summary: The Pokemon World is seemingly perfect, but humanity's greed manipulated a natural occurrence, Pokerus, into an innovation for competitive battling. However, it turns for the worse as the resulting giant beasts blindly roam across the world. In the Hoenn region, a young Turtwig faces these challenges set by the unnatural monsters that first dominated the human race.
1. Chapter 1: Reality

_Chapter One: Reality_

Inventions are supposed to have a _positive_ impact on society. We have the light bulb, the telephone, and even the Pokéball at our very disposal. For countless generations, people and Pokémon have gotten along without taking advantage of one another; of their abilities, their minds. The fast-developing society lead to new inventions every day, but more and more began to have a smaller "positive" impact.

The Master Ball could catch any Pokémon, and any simple-minded trainer could win it when playing the lottery. The Experience Share allowed newly-hatched Pokémon to become stronger without any trainer-Pokémon bonding required. Crime syndicates were evolving Pokémon faster than they were supposed to. Life was centered around battling.

Competitive battling became the norm for society; if a Pokémon was not in the "overused" tier, then its trainer would cast it aside in favor of some other monster. Soon enough, only the top-tier powerhouses were being used. Life was no longer about making these bonds between people and Pokémon—but it wasn't completely tainted. Not then.

The _one _untouched mystery of Pokémon collided with competitive battling. Pokérus, a seemingly harmless—and very rare—virus that boosts the effectiveness of a Pokémon's hardcore training, soon became subject to several experiments that rooted from Cinnabar Island. Once complete, the new Pokérus was immediately released to the public. Pokémon could evolve much quicker, and some doubled in strength. Within a week, there were Surskit that could have higher Special Attack than a perfect Chandelure.

Johto was the first region to sell the virus, though. Goldenrod City would sell a bundle of six to each trainer for very little in return. Unova and Kalos crashed next; the newer regions' big cities, Castelia and Lumiose, respectively, were similar to Johto in that they sold so many injections. Trainers became hasty and soon Kanto and Sinnoh fell into jeopardy. I am not sure if they were completely infected at the time, though. Hoenn, being one of the most ill-informed regions, was not subject to the frenzy at such an exponential rate. However, the scientists at Cinnabar Island became quick millionaires.

Their luck ran out. Just as Frankenstein's creation went horribly right, so did theirs. The virus took an unexpected (an undocumented) turn back in their lab after having already released the first altered strains of the virus. The Pokémon they had been testing, a mere Rattata, grew to over 100ft in height—it had grown much stronger. In fact, the Pokémon wiped out the whole entire lab and the rest of Cinnabar Island. Their virus really did make the Pokémon strong enough to win at any battle—including one with humanity.

Soon enough, a few days after the incident, the trainers' Pokémon began to do the same thing. Trainers, nurses, gym leaders, and ordinary citizens—all taken out by their own Pokémon. Even those who refused to use the virus experienced the wrath that followed. Eventually, after only a few months now, the human race has been completely wiped out due to famine, chaos, and misery. It seems that these giants enjoy _eating _the humans and Pokémon. But why? All that's left are a fraction of the region's wild Pokémon and only a handful of some trainers' well-kept Pokémon.

I am coincidentally one of them. As a Turtwig, I'm not fast, nor strong, nor beautiful. However, I have been able to lead my team of six out of the wilderness and into the city. Where am I? Well, my trainer took us to the Hoenn region in order for us to escape the calamity. However, it was obviously pointless—even present-day Hoenn has been infected for some five or six months now.

She was killed only two weeks ago. Before she died, she had thrown the bag containing her Pokéballs away from danger in just enough time so that they wouldn't get slammed by the creatures. We did not see what had killed her.

Her full party, excluding myself, consisted of Marill, whose dreams are only to live in happiness, Fennekin, a Pokémon absorbed in self-centered glamour and glory, Trapinch, an ant-like Pokémon that dreams to fly one day, the goofball of our group, Shuppet, and the most kindhearted and giving Pokémon—Skitty. We, as a team, have survived on our own without facing a single monster. I have not seen one myself, though I have heard the stories.

The six of us roamed the route involving the Weather Institute for a long time, but we finally made it to Fortree City. I have decided that I can only show my appreciation towards its hospitality by joining its Expedition Team—the group that runs around, defeats threats to society, and provides the needed materials for economic success.

Though I am but a small snapping turtle, I will continue my dream of achieving fame and a reputation—but, most of all, in keeping my family and friends safe from the disaster that the human race had so greedily created.

My name is Turtwig, and I will be guiding you through the journey of a lifetime—the rest of _my _story—and be prepared: it is not a happy one. Not at all.


	2. Chapter 2: Introductions

_Chapter 2: Introductions_

"Tur…twig…twig," Turtwig hears a faint voice call his name from deep inside his dream. "Up! Ge-…up!" it continues. He calls out in frustration, wanting to know what's going on, but he cannot escape his deep sleep.

"Turtwig, for the love of _Arceus_, GET UP!" Skitty slaps Turtwig's face with her tail. Breathing heavily, she continues on to get the others out of slumber.

"What's going on?" Turtwig groggily asks. "Are we under attack?"

"No, but it's time for breakfast. I made Poffins!" Skitty cheers. She walks over to a somewhat-distant location and picks up a plate of pancake-like food.

Turtwig fully wakes up. He looks around and sees the small, enclosed area from the brown tent. They live in the worse part of Fortree City, being guests there, and are trying to become full residents. Today, hopefully, they can earn their place. Turtwig notices three other sleeping bodies: an orange-brown ant, a yellowish fox, and a sea-blue mouse. Turtwig takes his glance away from them and turns 45 degrees to see a dark face and a bright pink tongue staring back at him.

"Gah!" he screams, falling back and landing on Marill, who, as a result, squirts a blast of water on Fennekin and Trapinch.

"What's going on?!" Trapinch snaps as he gets out of the small ground indention he slept in.

"Yeah, what's up with the wake-up call?" Fennekin says, shaking his fur to get it dry.

"Shuppet scared the crap out of me, that's what!" Turtwig gasps for air.

"You don't like to be astonished? Stick in the mud!" Shuppet laughs as he takes a Poffin and gulps it down like a whale and plankton.

As the others move toward the center of the tent, Skitty comes forward with more food. They laugh at eat happily, as a group, and get ready for the day that follows. Suddenly, though, a piercing noise erupts from outside the tent. Turtwig and Shuppet peak out of their shelter for a quick look and see, in his honor, Skarmory—the designated leader of Fortree City.

"All who wish to apply for the Expedition Squad should expect an entrance exam in two days! Until then, I hope you all will come out and greet our brave squad as it returns from a dangerous trip!" Skarmory squawks loudly.

Turtwig looks at the puzzling creature. With a steel body and piercing wings, the metal bird seems very intimidating. Skarmory is an obvious choice for Fortree City's leader; he was, after all, one of the main Pokémon used by Winona, the town's previous gym leader. Skarmory challenged her other Pokémon and defeated them all single-handedly, earning himself a spot in charge.

"Come on, guys! Let's go to the gates!" Turtwig cries out, busting out of the brown tent and running toward the western side of Fortree City.

Behind him, moaning and groaning, come Shuppet, Skitty, Trapinch, Marill, and Fennekin. They all, with the addition of several towns-Pokémon, crowd around the edge of Fortree City. Just a few steps to their left would lead them to Route 119, however they cannot; there is a large wall made of stone that surrounds and isolates all of Fortree City from the outside world. On top of this wall are the guards and night watchmen. The wall could pass as 50 meters high easily. Turtwig reminds himself that it was built by Skarmory's own Rock Slide attack. Surely it is good enough.

"Here they come!" announced Swellow, whose own position is in control of the Wall Patrol. It looks like a swift flyer; it is, after all, a Pokémon meant to go at high speeds.

Before the group walks in, several squad members that were left in Fortree walk up quickly. Ponyta, the Fortree messenger, anxiously waits to see if her boyfriend is still alive. Her fiery mane suddenly dies down a little as her face obviously turns to worry. Houndour, whose older brother had gone on the expedition, whines a little as he wonders if the other Houndour and Glameow will make it home. Chikorita and Lairon, other squad members, sit tight to see if their friends are okay. It is very emotional to process this, and Turtwig becomes distraught by the nervous atmosphere engulfing him.

"Open the doors!" an unknown voice shouts, however Turtwig quickly identifies it as Pelipper, the Flying-type in charge of townspeople and regulation. His pelican-like nature is fitting; he loves to fly up in the air and smell the breeze from Lilycove City's port. It's his wish to go there one day.

"Doors are opening!" Altaria, the co-leader of Fortree City, announces proudly. Her cloudlike wings appear comforting and supportive; Turtwig wishes he had puffy wings.

The doors, after a long wait, finally open. Through it, several Pokémon enter with scratches, bruises, and gashes. Scyther, the Expedition Team Leader, walks in with a limp and quickly falls into the arms of Nurse Audino, who orders a stretcher to take him wherever the hospital may be. Scyther's blades are dull and battered; one of his wings have shriveled up and appears pathetic.

"We lost two in the struggle," he manages to say while Chansey rolls a stretcher in. "Houndour and Glameow—they were…they were…" he loses consciousness and lies on his emergency transportation.

"They were eaten alive by a wild Munchlax," announces a sassy Pokémon and it walks in slowly with another Pokémon of the same title.

"It's Snivy and Chespin, some of the best on the squad," one of the townspeople clarifies.

Snivy is a greenish snake, but it's bipedal—a walking _snake_! Her friend, Chespin, is rodent-like and appears to be an egotistic Pokémon. He walks with a swagger that seems to bring the impression of self-worth. Ignoring him, Turtwig stares straight at Snivy.

"Glameow fell and couldn't get up, so Houndour attempted to save her. When they both got in trouble, I tried to help them, but—" she nervously glances at the other little Houndour. "But I wasn't fast enough."

Houndour sniffs once, drops his head low, and then runs to his house crying. Fennekin darts off to keep him company.

"Fennekin!" Turtwig shouts, but he lets the Pokémon go.

More Pokémon soon emerge from the outside world. Skiddo, much to Ponyta's relief, walks in with hardly a scratch on him; it appears that he was not in the action. With bushes on his back, he looks like a youthful goat. Combusken, a furious chicken, limps over to the nurse with a large gash on his right arm. Linoone darts in without any serious injury and runs off to find Houndoom. The sleek body makes it perfect for him to run fast, but he doesn't seem capable of making quick turns. The final Pokémon to come in is a purple snake. He looks around and then shouts for the doors to be closed once again.

"Got it," Swellow shouts, and passes the order onto its subordinates.

Ekans, the mentioned snake, is severely battered; his whole body is cut up and damaged. However, in front of the crowed, he quickly slides out of his old skin and presents a fresh, clean body that lacks any physical damage.

"I'm going to check on the others," he says, taking his old skin to the trash can.

Turtwig looks back at Skitty and Shuppet. "I'm not going to let this happen—I'm going to join the Expedition Squad! Are you guys?"

Skitty looks down quietly and whispers, "I put in an application for the Pokémon Center—that's where the nurses are going. I want to help, too, but I'm not strong. I do have healing moves, though!"

It's true, Turtwig knows that. Skitty can use Heal Bell to remove any status effects that the Pokémon may have attained. She even has Wake-Up Slap to help bring patients back into consciousness—Turtwig learned that the hard way.

"Sounds fun to me. What about you, Trapinch?" he asks, moving his attention back to his ant-like friend.

"I think I may be more useful in the patrolling position. I can burrow and trap foes and can even use my special Quick Attack for a powerful surprise. Sound good?" the zigzag-mouthed Pokémon smiles.

"If that's what you want…" Turtwig sighs. They _were_ going to do this all together.

Trapinch slowly walks in Swellow's direction. Skitty likewise goes to this "Pokémon Center."

"I'll make a difference in a few days! My older sister will not have given her life in vain," a Pokémon nearby contemplates loudly, much like Turtwig.

In response to this promising announcement, Turtwig faces this mirrored copy of himself. A blue, not green, turtle stares back at him now. Turtwig steps back a little in surprise and asks the Pokémon what it calls itself.

"I'm Squirtle. My sister and I have lived here since as long as I can remember. She used to be on the squad. She gave her life for that low-life Scyther because she looked up to him," the yellow-bellied Pokémon remarks angrily.

"So why would you want to be on the same team as him?" Turtwig asks.

"I don't care about him…I just want to carry out what my sister tried to do a few weeks ago: she wanted to protect this town. I will do it in her honor," he replies.

"My trainer has passed away for similar reasons…I miss her every day," Turtwig pokes at the green grass by his feet.

"I haven't seen you around here much before. Are you new? I can give you a tour if you want," Squirtle smiles.

"Sure! That would be nice," he assures. Turtwig looks back to see Marill and Shuppet walking back to the tent. He figures that they'll be okay without him.

"I'll show you the Town Hall—it used to be the Pokémon Gym. It's where all the town leaders sleep. They stay in the middle of the town to be at its heart, but I think it's just so that they're safe," Squirtle whispers.

"I'd love a tour. Can we stop by the squad's house on our way back?"

"I don't see why not. Let's go!" Squirtle cheers.

The two of them go from the western wall and Turtwig catches a quick glance at the Pokémon Center—the hospital that Skitty wants to work at. It has a red roof, but the rest of it is pure white. Hopefully the environment is perfect for Skitty. He'll have to check it out next time.

"So you're going to take the entrance exam as well?" Turtwig asks.

"Yeah. I've tried before, but I was a point short of making it," Squirtle frowns.

Turtwig and Squirtle make it to a rope ladder that leads them up to the first tree house. Frightened, Turtwig admits that he cannot climb. Squirtle takes him around back to a small platform with ropes.

"Is this a lift of some sort?" Turtwig asks.

"Bingo. Watch this," Squirtle tells him, then looks up to the first tree house. "Up please!" he shouts.

Suddenly, the two of them are rising from the ground. Turtwig closes his eyes as he goes up high, but soon opens them to see the beautiful, albeit limited, scenery. As they go up probably twenty feet, Turtwig finally gets comfortable. It's beautiful—what he can see before the giant wall, that is. The trees are blooming with life, the Pokémon are flying around and enjoying themselves. It's peaceful.

The two of them quickly get to the first tree house. They are greeted by someone from the squad—it's Chespin! He is thanked by Squirtle, but then immediately heads into the exclusive house.

"Half of the squad lives on this side of Fortree. The other half lives near Route 120. It's a really good system. That way, if a Pokémon comes from either side, we're ready," Squirtle brags.

"What about a Flying-type like a giant Salamence or something?" Turtwig asks out loud.

The two of them move on from the house and begin walking along a rope-bound bridge that is made of planks. It seems very unsafe, but everyone's been using it, so hopefully it's okay. Not a single plank is broken, and the rope seems fastened tight around a pole.

"Well…let's hope that doesn't happen. Most of the Pokémon that were transformed in Hoenn are located at or near Petalburg City. That is one of the only locations where the virus was sold," Squirtle explains.

By the end of the explanation, they arrive at the second treehouse. Squirtle explains that civilians live here. It's cramped and hot, but living in a home is better than a tent. Turtwig shrinks a little inside. However, they quickly continue on for one more trip to the gym. Walking across another set of planks, Turtwig can see a brown rooftop to his right, and he presumes it to be the gym.

They arrive to a third treehouse and go down a lift in a similar fashion as when they came up. Soon enough, Turtwig sees the "Pokémon Gym" sign right beside the brown-roofed building.

"Do you want to go any further?" Squirtle asks.

"No, I think we can go back now," Turtwig shies away from the impressive place.

"What are you two doing here?" a feminine voice inquires from behind them.

Turtwig turns around to see Snivy staring at the two of them. She's in an attacking stance. It's as if she thinks they are threats. Snivy, the garden snake, has a bunch of sharp leaves at the end of its tail.

"Stop looking at my tail, pervert!" she sneers, smacking him with it.

"Hey, don't hurt him! He didn't mean anything by it. Snivy, this is Turtwig," Squirtle defends the Tiny Leaf Pokémon.

"Oh, it's you. Squirtle, unless you pass the exam, you can't be on the squad. Neither you nor your friend have the credentials to meet with Skarmory, and you cannot just go around in everybody's business. Please, you two, go back to where you came from. I'd hate for there to be unnecessary drama. Don't cause a scene," she demands with a teenage tone in her voice.

"Hey, we _are_ going to take the exam!" Turtwig spits.

"Ohoho! Then I can't _wait_ to see you make it," she retorts.

"Good! You can count on it!" he argues further.

"Turtwig, don't fight with her. It's fi—" Squirtle interjects.

"No, it's not fine. She can't just treat us like we're children. She looks like she's the same age!" Turtwig barks.

"And what if I am?" she smiles. "There's no set age limit if you have the skill."

"Fine. We're going to make it on that Trainee list. Soon enough, you'll respect us!" Turtwig shouts.

"Tell me this. Have you even seen one of _them_?" Snivy asks seriously.

"Well, no, but I—" Turtwig goes quiet.

"I understand your determination. I do. I've been there. But…I have seen some of the greatest people die just like that. You've never actually witnessed anything until you've come into contact with them. It isn't the same as meeting a mean Pokémon. Nature is imploding because of humanity. We are all that's left, and there aren't many of us left. By the end of the day, your friends may not even make it. So yes, I do admire your determination, but you're foolish. To stay on the team after it has happened…that's true bravery. This, what you're displaying right now, is petty anger. Come back when you've proven your worth," she calmly explains while tearing up.

And, just like that, Turtwig goes on home without another word.


	3. Chapter 3: Glances

_Chapter 3: Glances_

Turtwig hobbles into the welcoming Pokémon Center so he can see his friend's progress. Once he enters the medium-sized building, he notices the white-tiled floors and the clean appearance from the inside. Did Skitty do this? Moving his eyes to the middle of the room, he spots his friend up at the reception desk. Her small, pink tail-end bobs from side to side as she listens to the complaints of the townspeople from behind the desk.

"My head really hurts," one Pansear quietly explains to the Kitten Pokémon. "Every time I talk, it feels like a _hammer_ is trying to smash my head in!"

Skitty smiles, rubs the fire-type monkey's head, and whispers into his ear to go on back with Audino. "She will take care of his head with some herbs she found in the wild."

The red-haired Pokémon follows Skitty's guidance and walks awkwardly down the hall, then picks up the pace once he sees the pinkish-colored creature with feelers under its ears. The new face smiles and takes him on back to be treated with.

"Hey, Skitty! You seem to be doing well," Turtwig happily comments.

"Actually, there isn't much activity. That's a good thing, though. Those creatures out there cause lots of pain and suffering…so I want my job to be quiet," she sighs.

"You're nervous, aren't you?"

"Yes. I've heard of some Pokémon outside talking about that old wise bird up in the treetops. Have you heard of what he's saying?" she asks, cocking her head to the left, but just slightly enough for one to notice.

"No? Who is he?" Turtwig asks out loud.

"I don't know. I've been tending to the sick and wounded here," she explains.

"I'll have to check that out. Anyway, can you tell me about the hospital system here?" Turtwig politely wonders.

"Sure," Skitty nods. "Chansey is in charge of this Pokémon Center, but Audino has just as much knowledge and ability in helping. I'm the only other helper here, but they say I'm helping more than any other Pokémon could."

"That sounds great," Turtwig smiles, but notices that he's holding up the line—a blue-colored, bubble-wearing Frogadier made that plain and clear.

"We all have problems, here! Get out!" he snarls.

Turtwig gives Skitty one last glance before walking out. She already looks flustered with all of the work ahead of her today. Moving on, he exits the high-tech building and trots outside to the warm, familiar breeze emanating from the western side of Hoenn. The volcano to Fortree's far left leaves a nice, summery feeling. While walking, Turtwig admires the birds that can still fly around and sing, even with the giant Pokémon roaming.

Turtwig, looking up, runs into a small shack with a blue roof. _Bonk!_ Once he shakes his head of the pain, Turtwig notices that it's a faded PokéMart. He runs around its perimeter to find the glass sliding door, but all that's left is a gaping hole.

"Hello?" Turtwig calls into the black abyss of Fortree City.

_Hnnnnng! Hack hack!_

Turtwig is taken aback from the noise, but it only perks his curiosity.

"Excuse me…is everything okay in there?"

"_Flash!"_A voice squawks into the dusty air of the tiny structure.

Suddenly, a light bursts through the building's interior and exposes the walls and floor. Soon enough, everything was visible. Turtwig steps in the doorway and looks around cautiously.

"Welcome to Fortree City's Pokémon Mart, how may I help you?" a voice startles Turtwig, though he turns around to see a tan-colored owl perched on a small piece of wood prodding out from the wall.

"I was just wondering what this building is used for now?"

"Oh, ho, ho!" the owl laughs to itself.

"Um?"

"Hah! Hah hah!" it chirp-croaks, and the sound mocks that of a bird still trying to swallow a large, squirming frog.

"I'm just going to go now," Turtwig sheepishly whispers, walking backwards to escape the insane owl.

"I'm Noctowl. Not only am I on night patrol for the defense system here, but I both watch the storage of and mandate the selling of the items inside this very building. I often sell Potions to visitors or little kids wanting to go on a dangerous journey of some sort. Is there a problem? Did you not notice that there is a sign with posted open hours?" the sharp-beaked bird asks in a demanding, albeit somewhat goofy, tone.

"Oh, I didn't see it. Sorry," Turtwig mutters, then retreats, turns around, and runs out of the creepy building.

"A-hah-hah! Ho, ho, ho, hohoho!" the owl cackles, and then its head spins around in an attempt to stop its fits of laughter, but doing so only increases the irregular exhales.

. . .

Turtwig decides to visit the Pokémon School with his pal Fennekin. While Fennekin was a part of their trainer's party, he is not as nice to Turtwig as Trapinch or Skitty are. However, Turtwig doesn't mind trying to get to know him better. They are stuck in some evil life, after all.

"So, are you excited to see the children at the school?" he asks the fox, however the Pokémon turns its head slightly.

"Look, we can be friends and all, but you don't have to force yourself to strike up a conversation. It will naturally come out," the yellowish Pokémon stops, stares at Turtwig, and then continues on at a slightly faster pace.

"I was just making conversation," Turtwig frowns.

They continue walking on the brown-and-green land, with patches of grass sprouting from the dark-colored mud that cakes the top section of the ground. Turtwig motions Fennekin over to the back of one of the tree-houses.

"Not all of us are bipedal, so Squirtle showed me this lift that we can use to get to the Pokémon School," Turtwig grins, running onto a small, wooden platform that is square-shaped.

Fennekin sighs, jumps onto the raised area, and waits patiently for Turtwig to do most of the work. He does, though he quietly whispers spiteful words toward the lazy Fennec fox. As he continues to pull on the rope like last time, the platform rises up into the air and, eventually, onto the docking area of the above tree-house. Instead of admiring the scenery, Turtwig hurried through the pulling so that he could get away from the awkwardness.

He and Fennekin then go by the first house and head to a long rope bridge, which stretches from one tree house to the next. Turtwig runs across with his eyes closed so he will not look down at the distant ground, but Fennekin prances on the tough steps with one paw in front of the other at all times. Eventually, though, they catch up to the one small building at the far-right of town: the Pokémon School. The two enter the building to examine both the teacher and students.

"…and that's how a Pokémon _evolves_—there is no real set time for many Pokémon…some just evolve when they are ready. As a Miltank, I cannot evolve, nor can a Pokémon evolve into me," the teacher smiles at the class.

Miltank, with her pink and black skin, walks around the middle of her classroom with a warm smile on her face.

"Why hello, young Pokémon! Are you here to join my class for the day?" she asks Turtwig and Fennekin.

"Um, no, ma'am, we were just exploring the town. We're somewhat new here," Turtwig offers an explanation, but she seems stern on having them stay.

"Well feel free to join my class!" she beams.

In her classroom, there are several students. There's that red monkey—Pansear, from the hospital—and two other ones similar to it, but different in color. There is also a small Swallow Pokémon and a bird with clouds as its wings. There are other children, but they are either asleep or not paying attention to anything.  
"Ms. Miltank, I want to join the Expedition Team," one kid—the green monkey in the group—pleads.

"I'm sorry, Pansage, but you're still not old enough. Wait just a couple more months and you'll be of age, I'm sure of it," she politely turns down his wish.

"Yes, ma'am…"

Miltank turns back to Fennekin and Turtwig. "Well, if I were you, I would stay for the day and learn a thing or two. It may help you youngsters do whatever you're doing around Fortree City!"

"Well," Turtwig quickly interjects, "I'm about to go to the western side of Fortree City and visit my friend at the wall. However, I'm _sure _Fennekin would love to sit in and listen to one of your lectures."

Fennekin produces a low growl, but then perks its ears slightly down and mutters, "Sure, I'd be glad to join your class, but I _was _going to go with Turt—" the fox glances behind to see that Turtwig was already gone.

"Looks like that won't be a problem," the cow smiles, and she walks over behind Fennekin, closes the door, and hands him a small Mudkip cushion to sit on while she talks about evolution.

. . .

Turtwig, panting, looks up to see the wonderfully built wall. It seems to be made of both large boulders, which is the main structure of the defensive barrier, and mud to pack the stones together in a fixed position. The wall is probably one or two hundred feet tall, but Turtwig can't just climb up it…or even use a lift, for that matter. He looks around desperately for some sort of elevator or…

"Ralts Transport: Stand here to be teleported up to the top of our Defense System. –Ralts," Turtwig read, realizing that he was standing in front of a sign for transport all along.

_Sssshhhwoooopp!_ A quick, surprising noise interrupts Turtwig's thinking. He jumps up a little, and then settles on the ground to instinctively turn around to see what was making the noise.

"Hello, I'm Ralts. You wanted to go up to the wall's very top?" the green-headed, white-bodied Pokémon asks.

"Oh, um, yeah. Is my friend Trapinch up there?" Turtwig awkwardly requests to see his friend.

"I think so. He's talking with the head of the Defense Department, Chief Swellow. He just got accepted into working along the wall as a guard!" she cheers.

"That's great! Can you beam me up, then?"

"I sure can. Hold on tight, and please do not vomit when we get to the top. Thank you!" she laughs as Turtwig closes his eyes.

_Sssshhhwoooopp!_ Turtwig opens his eyes the instant he realizes he's on the ground—well, not the ground, but solid flooring. He's on the top of this wall of stone!

"Turtwig? Is that you?!" a familiar voice calls to him.

Turtwig's vision clears and he sees his zigzag-mouthed best ant friend. They embrace, and Trapinch shows him around the wall.

"Right below us is the door to enter Fortree City. There's another one on the opposite part of town. However, the rest is solid rock. I patrol the walls in the mornings usually, and it's fun because there hasn't been a giant monster in over a week. I might not even meet one again," he chatters on.

They continue this fun talk for several hours up on the wall—it's around midnight until Trapinch finally decides to call Ralts to get transportation home.

Turtwig groggily remembers Ralts replying that she "needed to start getting paid for this" or something. He fell asleep on the flat top and did not bother going to his warm, comfy bed in the tent.

_Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!_

Turtwig wakes up, startled, to hear the loud stomping of feet on the ground…and it isn't on Fortree City's side of the wall. Desperate, he begins stretching his legs for a long run around the wall so he could escape whatever is making that sound.

_Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!_

It's getting closer. He can _hear_ its breathing. The monster—whatever it may be—is quietly trying to come and destroy Fortree City!

"Help! Someone! It's coming to attack! A monster!" Turtwig screams down at the town, but there isn't a single light on. He quickly notices something small, like maybe a bird or owl, perched on a tree, but it doesn't say anything. He dismisses it and looks back over at the other side of the wall.

Standing right in front of him—standing right over the wall, like a teenager about to step over a speed bump, is the giant Pokémon. It doesn't make a move, and neither does Turtwig. They both just stare at each other. Even though it's dark, Turtwig can make out some details of the Pokémon. It has a long, red nose that stands out as its biggest feature. It has a stone texture to its body, including arms and legs, that makes it look impenetrable.

This Pokémon—Turtwig identifies it as a Nosepass—is normally only three feet tall…but, to him, it seems to be about three _hundred_ feet tall. His feet go cold. His heart starts beating faster than a rapper can spit out words. His brain freezes, all activity paused momentarily as Turtwig's life may now be over. The Pokémon looks sternly at him, though it does not have full consciousness. It appears to be some sort of lifeless body…like a zombie. Turtwig blinks hard, and then hears it:

_Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!_

It's gone. After all the suspense, the vulnerability, the wonder…it left. That monster had the whole entire city (minus him, of course) to its advantage. But now it's gone? If these creatures dine on regular Pokémon for survival, why would it just leave like that? Turtwig shakes his head in an attempt to free himself of his own curiosity.

"There's only one thing I can do now," he whispers to himself in the dark, quiet top of the western wall. "I _have_ to join the Expedition Team if I want to save Fortree City from this nightmare."


	4. Chapter 4: Entrance Exam

_Chapter 4: Entrance Exam_

"Get in a line against the wall! I expect each and every _worthy_ member of our Expedition Squad to have the proper posture, attitude, and abilities," barks Scyther, the squad's rough leader.

It's a beautiful day in the city of Fortree. While outside the walls it is silent and dead with the decay of happiness, Fortree's interior bursts with liveliness. It's a wonder the city hasn't been noticed by one of _them_…whatever they are. The trees are radiating this uplifting atmosphere; it's almost as if they are excited for the trainees to help protect them. They sky is a bright blue, a shade so blue that it in fact doesn't look blue at all. Today is going to be great.

Scyther, the green insect with sharp, pointy blades as his primary weapon, walks along the line of hopeful citizens that lay their backs along the western side's sturdy wall. He begins with this one Pokémon—a Wurmple—and looks him up and down. The leader narrows his eyes, but moves on. He walks over to the three little elemental monkeys—Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour, and immediately blinks several times.

"You all are too young to join our Expedition Team. You would die the minute you step out of the gate. Go home," he growls, and the three Pokémon run off.

"We just want to make a difference," the green monkey cries.

Scyther doesn't respond. He instead continues his inspection. Walking past a Raticate, he immediately strolls onto a lightning bug-looking Pokémon—Volbeat.

"Do you have what it takes, kid?"

"I believe so, sir!"

"_Believe?_ Get out. If you want to live, leave. You are almost destined for death by agreeing to do this!"

"Sir, with all due respect, I am not leaving. I am willing to die," the blue-bellied Pokémon squeamishly asserts.

"I like that. We'll see how you do," Scyther mumbles, wings twitching.

He moves past an Illumise, presumably Volbeat's buddy, Raticate, Squirtle, and Fennekin, but he stops at one Pokémon: a weak one that flops around aimlessly.

"…I'm not going to ask why you are here," he shakes his head and stares at the ground, however, he continues on without dismissing the Pokémon.

Fletchinder, Elekid, Tropius, Shuppet…they are all asked a question and each give a suitable response in return. Scyther smiles at each one and strolls alongside the wall.

He then comes to Turtwig. Scyther immediately raises his blade up and strikes at the Tiny Leaf Pokémon. Turtwig dodges quickly, easily avoiding the attack.

_What was that for?_ Turtwig asks himself. _Surely he's not angry at me for something?_

"Fast reflexes for a snapping turtle. Impressive," he smiles and turns away to look at a Bunnelby standing right beside Turtwig.

As Turtwig sighs, Scyther walks on and questions a Wingull, whose father is actually one of the co-leaders of Fortree City.

"Please don't show me any bias based on who my father is. I don't want that to reflect on my performance," Wingull explains.

"Bias? Ha! Since you're Pelipper's son, I'm expecting you to be top-notch!" Scyther chimes.

Wingull's face went from a regular, slightly nervous expression to a mortified appearance. Turtwig tries to hold back a laugh and barely succeeds. He notices that Scyther just finished looking over Marill—he has gone over all of the potential recruits and walks over toward the center of the line.

"There are approximately fifteen of you that have volunteered—and have qualified—for the position of trainee. However, only ten of you will have the opportunity to join the squad. Before we begin your entrance exams, let me tell you that coming this far is impressive. Even if you are the most out-of-shape Pokémon on this planet, you're at least making an attempt to change that. You are all passionate, and, in a world like this, that will not take you far. You will all suffer tragedy, experience pain, and most likely get destroyed by our own kind. But you know what? I'm proud that you all—despite knowing that you're selling your soul—are out here and are standing against the wall. It's just too bad that you won't last."

Turtwig's stomach begins to make loud noises as his nervousness intensifies. Die? That's the one thing he's afraid of. He couldn't imagine his friends dying…let alone himself fail to keep his own life. Is he really cut out for this? For just a brief second, he thought of running away, but that would show weakness he wishes not to display.

"The first ten players to reach ten points on our scale will officially become trainees. Now today only some will pass, but tomorrow we will finish up the rest of the exam and determine the final few trainees. Now, onto your first test: you all must compete against—and defeat—another player standing before you. If you get a clean victory, you will earn three points. If you barely win, you will earn two. Losing earns no points because you will not be acknowledged as a threat by the monsters if they take you out in one hit. Since there is an odd number, Volbeat, you will get two out of the three possible points this round and not have to battle," Scyther continues.

"Thank you, sir," Volbeat smiles.

"Now, as for pairing…Wurmple, you and Bunnelby are the first group. Raticate and Fletchinder are our next couple. Tropius and Marill, Fennekin and Illumise, and Squirtle and Elekid will be groups. Finally, hmm," Scyther looks at Turtwig, Shuppet, Magikarp, and Wingull. "Turtwig and Magikarp, Shuppet and Wingull. There—we have our opponents! Wurmple and Bunnelby, you two have the floor."

Bunnelby hops up into the grassy area in front of the group of trainees. Likewise, although on the opposite side of Bunnelby, Wurmple inches its way onto the battlefield.

"Now watch as they fight—I want you to see their techniques and realize why one of them wins," Scyther notes.

Wurmple makes the first move—it shoots an array of purple spikes toward the Digging Pokémon. The poisonous darts zip past Bunnelby's head as it manages to escape the attack through a swift dodge.

Bunnelby immediately responds back with a Quick Attack, knocking Wurmple back and dealing tons of damage. The Worm Pokémon recovers after a few seconds of the attack, but it's obviously still hurt. It doesn't make a move, though—the Pokémon sits there as Bunnelby rears back for another Quick Attack.

"Why is the bunny doing so much damage?" asks Marill.

"I'm not completely sure, but I believe it inherited a hidden ability called 'Huge Power' or something. It means the Pokémon's attack stat is doubled," explains Scyther, who watches in amazement.

How can Wurmple defeat a powerful rabbit?

Bunnelby quickly starts sprinting toward Wurmple again—another Quick Attack. The worm smiles and shoots a thread of silk out of its mouth and toward the Pokémon—Bunnelby was wrapped in a thick blanket of Wurmple's String Shot!

"Now Wurmple can simply poison it, stall it out, and get the points," the Tropius mutters.

"Not so fast," Shuppet whispers back. "I think Bunnelby's about to finish him off."

Bunnelby frantically squirms inside the bundle of silk. However, he does manage to fall back onto his back—his ears are finally able to grasp for something on the ground. How can he win this, though?

"Looks like it's the end of the road for you," Wurmple smiles as he inches closer to his prey.

"Not quite!" Bunnelby strains as its ear finally manages to feel a small pebble—just enough to do the right amount of damage.

"Smack Down!" he shouts as he launches the pebble from his ear and at the worm. The Pokémon, whose location was only about three feet away from Bunnelby, fell over.

Wurmple had lost, Bunnelby won—it's simple; there is no argument as to who clearly dominated that battle.

"Three points for the clear victory," Scyther nods as he continues down the list of people. "Do you all kind of understand this? You don't want to _kill _the opponent in this situation—you only want to gain the upper hand.

Turtwig frowns as Chansey and Audino take Wurmple off to the Pokémon Center. What if he gets hurt like this? Is it really worth it? Bunnelby's only sitting down to catch his breath…can Turtwig take on a Pokémon like that?

Squirtle notices the slight nervousness that Turtwig now possesses. The Tiny Turtle Pokémon pats Turtwig on the back and smiles.

"Hey, you're going to do _fine._ We both are!" he optimistically beams.

"Maybe…"

"Raticate and Fletchinder, front and center!" Scyther demands.

The brown rat and fiery robin enter the field and clench their own teeth. Raticate seems angry—its teeth chomp loudly and repeatedly in a provocative manner. Is that a technique? Firing up a rival? Well if it is, then Turtwig wants to see how it plays out.

Fletchinder immediately uses an Aerial Ace attack, which looks really cool. The Pokémon flies up high in the sky, and then swoops down so low that it almost touches the ground. As it declines in altitude, the Pokémon's right wing glows white as it manages to easily hit Raticate where it hurts.

Raticate responds by channeling an electric current in between its paws and then discharging it in a small beam at Fletchinder—it's a super effective hit!

"What move was that?" asks Turtwig as he begins to feel the excitement for battling.

"That was Charge Beam—almost every time it hits, the user gets stronger. This isn't looking good for Fletchinder," Bunnelby notes as it finally catches its breath.

"It didn't look like it did much," Turtwig responds.

"No, I don't think it did. Raticate has naturally low Special Attack in the first place, but it could get dangerous if Fletchinder isn't careful," replies Tropius.

Fletchinder recovers from the attack and moves in for another Aerial Ace. However, upon swooping down to attack, Raticate immediately creates a blue barrier—kind of like a dome—that protects it from getting hit by the attack. Using this to his advantage, Raticate then sinks its teeth into the redheaded Ember Pokémon. It immediately seems half as strong as before.

"What move was that?" asks Fennekin, whose attitude finally reflects that of the others.

"That appears to be Super Fang," Turtwig says, finally knowing something. "I think it halves the current HP of the opponent when used."

Scyther nods in agreement and continues watching the process go on. This match is much closer than the other one.

Raticate, who was seemingly in the lead at first, has now turned slightly red. _Red._ Why does it seem different?

"That really hurt! I think I just got burned," the Pokémon complains as it begins to feel dizzy and upset.

Fletchinder uses this opportunity to swoop down. Using the flame sac inside of its belly, the Pokémon emits a five-pointed flame star that blasts into the air and slams Raticate hard. The flames of each point seem to pierce the skin of the Mouse Pokémon, and it ultimately faints due to the power of the attack and the inflicted pain from the burn. Fletchinder weakly smiles as it rests on the ground.

"Two points," Scyther continues as Raticate and Fletchinder are taken by Audino, Chansey, and Skitty to the Pokémon Center.

"Hey, Turtwig!" Skitty whispers as she walks by.

"Hey! Busy day?" he asks, smiling.

"You know it. I hope to not see you there!" she laughs, but then realizes that her comment may have sounded mean. "Not like that—I don't want you hurt. I didn't mean that you—"

"I know what you mean," Turtwig replies, trying to end the awkward conversation.

"Skitty, come on!"

"Well that's my cue to get back to work," the pink-eared Kitten Pokémon bids farewell and continues on up to the Pokémon Center.

Turtwig sighs as she leaves. He likes having someone to talk to. Watching everyone else battle is kind of boring. Eventually, though, it'll be his turn. It'll be fun.

The next few battles go in a similar manner as the first two. Tropius defeats Marill with one simple Leaf Tornado, while Fennekin's Fire Spin allowed it to barely manage the incoming Illumise. Because Elekid is barely old enough to apply, Squirtle did not have a hard time battling him. Next up was Turtwig's battle with Magikarp!

"I've been waiting all day for this!" Turtwig squeals as he runs to one side of the small field.

He notices the western wall that protects the whole city. It's straight in front of him. One day, he's going to go through those walls with the proud title of "Expedition Team." First, though, he must defeat this Magikarp.

"I'm the best Magikarp in my whole family," the flailing, lifeless fish mutters as it flops about aimlessly.

"Alright, then, let's go!" Turtwig cheers.

Turtwig first uses Razor Leaf at the fish Pokémon—and each leaf hits the target dead on. Turtwig goes in to hit it with a Seed Bomb before noticing that Magikarp was already…done. After all this wait, he ends up with this?

"Turtwig has earned three points for his victory against Magikarp," Scyther snickers as he sees Turtwig upset.

"My momma would be so proud," Magikarp wheezes as it is taken away to the Pokémon Center.

"I'm sure should would be, Magikarp. I'm sure she would be," Scyther agrees.

What just happened?

Finally, Shuppet manages a narrow victory over Wingull. Turtwig's not sure how, though. Shuppet had Thunderbolt and Confuse Ray, yet Wingull almost succeeded with Water Gun. It must be some sort of strong Pokémon, because Shuppet only walked (or…hovered?) away with two points out of three.

"Here are the standings so far: the Pokémon with three points are as follows: Bunnelby, Tropius, Squirtle, Turtwig. Good job so far, you four. Those with two points are: Volbeat, by default, Fletchinder, Fennekin, and Shuppet. You eight are officially on the scoreboard, congratulations!" the light green Mantis Pokémon says.

The second part of today's challenge, though, is not fun for anyone—after all the battling, there is going to be a race from one side of the wall to the other. Scyther continues with his explanation of the rules.

"The first five will earn three points, the second five will earn two points, and places 9-12 out of the total 15 will earn a single point.

Each of the fifteen Pokémon are required to put one foot on the western wall before Scyther officially gives the command to run. It's about 6:00 pm now, so the sun is starting to sink down. Each of us are already tired and hungry.

"Come on, we still have two more other challenges before the end of the day!"

Nearly every Pokémon felt like swearing under their breaths, and Turtwig was no exception. All of this one day? There's even more tomorrow! Turtwig frowns as he thinks about the opportunities the monsters have to attack right now. Oh well.

"On your marks…get set…" Scyther slowly mutters as he watches his trainees suffer during the suspense.

In that brief moment, Turtwig's stomach churns nervously as he anticipates when Scyther will officially start yet another competition. As a slower Pokémon, he can't exactly do well in this category.

"GO!" Scyther yells as he clangs both scythe-hands in order to make some sort of signaling noise.

Turtwig thrusts himself off the wall with all of his might, but he just cannot keep up with the rest. Shuppet, Wingull, and Bunnelby are long gone. Tropius and Fletchinder are flying to the other side of the wall. Turtwig is in the lower half in rankings, but that's okay for now.

Magikarp screams that he cannot win by flopping, so he officially quits the race and thus occupies spot fifteen on the leader board. Turtwig, though, still has to work hard if he at least wants a few points. In being one of the slowest Pokémon to compete, he has a big disadvantage.

Turtwig continues sprinting down the path toward the other side of the wall. He manages to run past Elekid, whose poor feet are killing him, and Volbeat, who is confused on where to go. However, he knows that he must keep going.

Ahead of him, Marill uses Aqua Jet on Fletchinder to stop it from advancing forward at such a high pace. The poor Ember Pokémon went from third place to right behind Turtwig, who is now in eleventh.

"Is that even fair?" Turtwig asks out loud, but Fletchinder only remarks that no one said anything against it.

Turtwig immediately decides to spit out several explosive seeds at his opponents. In using Seed Bomb, he can scare them into taking a detour, quitting, or just start lagging behind. His bombs hit Fennekin, Illumise, and Tropius, but only Fennekin is affected by them. He is slowed down and Turtwig, as a result, is officially in the top ten.

Turtwig finally makes it to the several tree houses that may be a quick alternative to just running. He quickly uses the elevator that lies behind the building and pulls himself to a higher elevation. Turtwig then proceeds to run across the rope bridges, beyond the next few houses, and finally down the other elevator. He is so close to the finish line!

"Shuppet has officially won first place, earning him three points!" Scyther cheers from ahead.

"Great, one of my friends beat me," Turtwig mutters.

"Raticate and Wingull now occupy second and third place, respectively!"

Turtwig begins to feel down when Bunnelby, Tropius, and Illumise finally cross the finish line as well—he is guaranteed to get two points or less. Turtwig uses Razor Leaf on Marill, which ultimately succeeds as Turtwig gains the lead. He quickly trots across the grassy terrain and is inches away from the eastern wall until Marill Aqua Jets to victory and earns seventh place. Turtwig occupies a respectably solid eighth place, but two points will not get him anywhere. As the other racers come in, he sighs and at least remarks that it was a short race. After all, it's a short distance as well.

Once the race is over, Scyther announces the current standings right now. Bunnelby and Tropius occupy first place with six points, and Turtwig, Squirtle, and Shuppet all have five points. The others have three or fewer, so Turtwig dismisses them as threats. However, Elekid and Magikarp, whose totals are both zero, have been thrown out of the competition due to their poor display of abilities.

"Our third, and, in this case, second-to-last round for the night will be based on stamina. In other words, I will get one of the Squad members to come and use a super effective move on you. Your response to the appropriate attack will determine your number of points. For example, if I use Wing Attack on a Paras and it comes to near death, it will earn 0 points for almost dying. However, if I use X-Scissor on a Tangrowth and it's completely fine, then it will earn 3 points," Scyther continues, though many Pokémon start to tune him out.

"Turtwig, I want you to start us off. I will use my X-Scissor attack on you, so be ready!" the Expedition Team leader puts both scythes together and quickly slices at Turtwig's shell.

The attack did not do much damage; Turtwig simply uses Synthesis to heal what damage it did do, but he was too busy thinking about his ranking before the attack was executed.

"Excellent! Three points for you, then. Who's next? Shuppet?"

Wurmple, Tropius, Wingull, Illumise, and Volbeat are all hit by Lairon's Stone Edge attack. The mighty Steel- and Rock- type Pokémon created and hurled giant stones at each of the Pokémon, and Tropius easily takes to attack due to its large amount of Hit Points. Wurmple likewise took the hit well because it, ironically, became used to the stones after getting hit by Bunnelby several times throughout the night. Both of them earned the maximum amount of points. Wingull did have problems with the stones due to its ability to fly, but it still managed to get partial credit for its attempt to withstand the attack. Illumise cried out several times as the stones hit, but it was relatively okay, so the Pokémon earned two points. Volbeat, though, quits before the rocks can be thrown, so it earns no points whatsoever.

Pelipper, one of the town leaders, comes to use Water Gun on Fennekin, Bunnelby, and Fletchinder. While Fennekin takes the attack very well due to its Special Defense stat, Bunnelby and Fletchinder cannot help but be pushed back by the attack due to its strong propulsion. Therefore, the first mentioned Pokémon earns three points, and the others gain two points each.

Marill earns maximum credit after taking a Vine Whip from Chespin, but Squirtle could only be credited for two points due to his lack of willpower. Raticate and Shuppet only gain one point each because they both do not take Combusken's Double Kick and Houndour's Dark Pulse, respectively, very well.

Volbeat is kicked out of the training session due to it only having a mere two points. Therefore, there are about twelve potential recruits left. After a long, vigorous day, the Pokémon line up outside of their cabin in order to complete tonight's final challenge.

"I must here an oral explanation as to why you all want to join my Expedition Team," Scyther says to the exhausted crowd.

Raticate goes first and states that he wants to make his son, a Rattata that attends the Pokémon School, proud. He wants to help earn his own reputation. He earns only two points due to the slight wish for self-gain. However, he's done for the night. The Pokémon heads to sleep and doesn't come out of the building the rest of the night.

After Raticate comes Tropius, who answers the question well enough to have eleven points—that puts him above the prerequisite to get in. Everyone cheers for him, but he goes to sleep—it's been a long day!

Turtwig goes next. When asked, he sincerely comes up with a thoughtful reason. "I lost my trainer a few months back. I want to fight in her honor not only to make her happy, but so that I can keep her fighting spirit burning true. I have made many friends in this city, and I plan on protecting each and everyone one of them. Even though I have my flaws, I try my hardest to succeed—and that's what I want to do. For my trainer. For my friends. For Fortree City."

"Kind of cheesy, but cheesy can sometimes be good. Congratulations, kid, these three points have brought you above the minimum requirements. You are the second to move on, so you don't have to come tomorrow to see your friends try to meet the 10-point requirements," Scyther smiles.

Turtwig, as the good sport he really is, decides to sit and wait for his friends to arrive. Shuppet earns only nine points, so he must compete tomorrow if he wants to get in. Wingull has reached seven, and that's one of the lowest scores of the night. Both Squirtle and Bunnelby are the only other Pokémon that met the ten-point minimum. Therefore, there were only a total of four trainees that are officially in the squad.

"Hold it," Scyther tells Fletchinder and Illumise before they go to bed. "The two of you have the lowest scores—it's a tie at five points. Therefore, I want the two of you to battle it out so that we can have eleven trainees overnight. The loser will be kicked out, while the winner will have one more night to prove himself worthy!"

Fletchinder and Illumise get onto opposite sides of the field, but Illumise sees Volbeat sitting alone and voluntarily quits. Fletchinder falls over asleep right after, so despite the lack of a battle, Fletchinder has one more night to prove himself. Illumise has given up.

"Well I'm going to bed," Squirtle mumbles, and the rest of the group laughs.

"Good idea," Skitty says as she and Trapinch walk in the door.

"What about food?" someone asks in the background.

"There's always breakfast," Tropius suggests.

"What will we eat? Your bananas?" Shuppet barks, laughing right after he says that.

After a short discussion of food, the light is turned off and the tree house goes completely quiet.

"Good night, everyone!" Turtwig whispers.

At least he knows he's in the squad. Not only that, but Turtwig was one of the _first_ ones to make it in—it wasn't a struggle to the finish.

_Let's just hope that doesn't come back to bite me in the future_, he thought to himself. _I bet I just jinxed myself. Darn it!_

After that thought, though, Turtwig falls asleep. It's going to be a great day tomorrow…for him.


	5. Chapter 5: New Beginnings

_Chapter 5: New Beginnings_

Turtwig wakes up early in the morning—probably before the sun reaches the trees, but he's not sure—from another scary dream that night. This time, his mind manipulated the thought of it being _his _fault for what happened to his beloved trainer.

_Is it my fault?_ Turtwig questions himself. _Did I really cause it?_

As he sets his head back on the small cushion, Turtwig begins to rock back and forth. Suddenly, images of him running over to a bush come rushing to his head.

_He eats an Oran Berry that fell from a tree; the blue, energetic berry felt so good sliding down his throat. He continues eating them until the area grew darker. _

_He turns around. From above is this dark, malevolent being that stands taller than anything. Turtwig starts to run. He goes faster and faster, faster and faster…but he cannot reach safety in time. He stops running, turns around, and looks up at the sky to see his predator._

_Nearby, a peaceful human being—Turtwig knows who she is, but he doesn't see her witness the event—suddenly spots her innocent snapping turtle in danger._

"_Turtwig, no! Return!" she screams, sending the Pokémon back into its Pokéball._

_Her first Pokémon ever is now safe from the man-made monster. She slips the ball back in her bag with the others. The trainer looks up at the beast with fear in her eyes. She suddenly decides to toss her bag of Pokéballs in the bushes to save them._

_Turtwig, somehow, can see all of this from inside the ball, inside the bag. He sees his trainer run, back up against a tree, and scream. A giant foot swiftly rockets toward the human. The foot stomps down, leaving nothing more than a memory of Turtwig's trainer. He shrinks, but the Pokémon can _hear_ the movement. _

_Its foot races toward that small bag, toward the other Pokémon, toward Turtwig. The foot pounds through the bag, through Turtwig's ball and..._

"Turtwig, you're waking everyone up!" a voice whispers from somewhere above.

_The memory runs down Turtwig's brain, through his very nerves. He can feel the electronic pulses move through his body; each motion brings nothing but pain. The memory goes through his eyeball, erupts out of the retina, and blasts through the pupil until—_

"NO!" Turtwig screams from his slumber and, startled, uses Razor Leaf on his surrounding friends.

Turtwig opens his eyes and jumps on his feet. He looks around to find everyone leering at him, some with leaves covering their faces or a cut on the leg.

_It's…it's okay. Just a dream. This didn't happen. I wasn't actually outside of my Pokéball…not at that particular moment. It's just a dream! It's not my fault. It's not my fault. It's not…my…fault,_ Turtwig thinks to himself. _It's just a dream._

While everyone looks at Turtwig, he can't stop shaking. He forces a smile, which causes some of the trainees-to-be to have some comfort, but Skitty, Trapinch, and Squirtle look concerned.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Skitty asks.

"No. This isn't important. Just a dream," Turtwig says.

_Just a dream…I like that_, Turtwig continues in his head.

"Hoenn to Turtwig?" Shuppet jokes.

"Let's eat!" shouts Marill, who announces that there are pancakes outside the Trainee Cabin they slept in.

"It's nice getting to sleep in something other than a guest's tent," Trapinch says dreamily.

While everyone else dives into their pancakes with large grins and appetites, Turtwig can't help but just sit there, motionless, and not eat a thing.

. . .

He hobbles down to the field, which is directly to the right of the Western Wall. Sitting in the sidelines, Turtwig, along with Bunnelby, Tropius, and Squirtle, watches the other Pokémon try to become trainees. There are only spots for six of them, but seven are competing to earn a position.

Scyther glides down from one of the tree houses and lands in front of the remaining participants. His silver scythes seem extra sharp today, as if he is anticipating a large event of some sort. Behind him, sheepishly, comes a familiar Pokémon to the Hoenn region—Combusken, one of the members of the Expedition Team. The chicken-like Pokémon pokes at the grass while Scyther glances over the crowd.

"Today, the final day for your exam, will have one final task to complete. Combusken, here," Scyther says, "is going to be your opponent in a one-on-one battle. If you can either match his strength or maybe even defeat him, you will earn three points. If you try but cannot succeed at all, then you will earn two. There is a possibility that some of you will not reach ten points. If that is the case, you will fight amongst the other low scorers for a spot on our team."

Trapinch and Skitty quietly run from the line of trainees-to-be. Whether they forget their jobs or just were curious about the competition, Turtwig wasn't sure, but he does know that they seemed panicked when realizing they stayed too long.

"Those who have already passed may come and go as they please. If you want to root for a friend, go for it, but you may go meet the other squad members, go around the town, or help out Ralts and Swellow with our defense units. Thank you for your presence, though, because it shows you actually care. I don't want you to stay the whole time," Scyther announces to Turtwig's small group of trainees.

Bunnelby decides to hop over to the PokéMart, though Turtwig doesn't bother following him. Tropius decides to fly around, and one of the bananas from his chin falls as he takes off. Squirtle takes the banana and eats it.

"That thing was on the guy's _face_," Turtwig replies in a disgusting, albeit slightly amused, tone.

"It tasted like a regular banana," Squirtle says.

"Aipom in a Squirtle body," Turtwig chuckles, and the two of them decide to go greet the Expedition Team's members.

Meanwhile, Wingull manages to defeat Combusken with a successful Water Gun / Hurricane combination that sent the chicken flying. With the last few points required, Wingull flies off to go meet his father, whose job is to deal with public disputes and problems within the city itself.

"Can't they just eat spicy foods and see who lasts the longest?" suggests Combusken, who struggles to get up.

"No. This is your punishment for eating Chespin's portion of our meal last night. You get to be beaten up by the newbies," Scyther smiles, which is weird because that Pokémon looks so fierce.

Combusken groans and slams back onto the green and brown mix of light grass and moist soil. The blazing chicken just can't win, it seems, and his boss doesn't care that he hates being humiliated.

"Next!" Scyther says with a slight hint of glee in his voice.

"But Chespin didn't _want_ his food! He's trying to get skinnier," Combusken sheepishly lies.

. . .

Turtwig and Squirtle run back behind the top-right tree house. Arriving to a familiar location, Turtwig recalls the view of the treetops and gets excited to see them again. The two of them hop onto the little elevator-like lift and Turtwig anxiously looks up to see everything. Squirtle, acknowledging this, smiles as he yells for someone to pull them up.

The wooden lift creaks at each small, abrupt pull of the rope lifting them up. Turtwig can actually understand the situation above; some Pokémon is pulling them up within many separate pulls of the rope, not at once. That means the helper probably isn't strong. As the small square block goes higher into the air, Turtwig and Squirtle sit in the middle of it and look out at the trees.

Swablu glide in the wind as a gusty breeze takes them right over the treetops, and as they propel forward, small, green leaves descend like little men parachuting for battle. Turtwig admires the leaves for their beautiful green color, but he then notices that one tree is completely bare; there are no leaves on it at all.

"That tree experienced some poison from a giant Pokémon not too long ago," Squirtle says, almost reading the thought right off of Turtwig's face.

"Was it defeated?"

"I'm not sure, I've just heard stories. My brother and I weren't here at the time."

"Brother? You have a brother? Where is he?"

"…" Squirtle looks down at his little blue feet and a tear smacks the wooden lift as they move even higher.

"I-I didn't know, I'm so sorry," Turtwig offers, but Squirtle shakes his head and wipes away the tears.

"That was then. This is now. I have you by my side, Turtwig, and together we'll conquer this messed up world," he says with a more fierce look in his eyes.

"For my trainer and your brother," Turtwig chimes in.

The elevator comes to a stop and the two of them meet Ekans, the Poison-type snake that struggled to pull them up.

"Hello, kidsssss. Ssssorrry I couldn't pull you up fasssster, but I don't have any handsss," he says with a blank look on his face.

"Oh, um, that's fine. We're the new Expedition Team trainees and we wanted to meet everyone," Squirtle, the social Beautifly, says to the purple snake.

"Ah, I sssssee. If you come right in, you'll meet half the sssquad in here. The other half issss at the back of the town," Ekans explains, leading them inside.

Inside, several Pokémon are talking and messing around. A bushy goat is playing a card game with this fiery pony, and both of them seem to blush when sitting across from each other. Chespin, one of the members they got to meet earlier, was at the back of the house—they have a _snack bar_—no, alcohol is prohibited—in the back and a soda machine next to it. Chespin casually puts in some change and drinks a whole can of what looks like some sort of nut juice. Ew.

A radio is on and, oddly, is actually playing music. It sounds like pop music, but the song is definitely several years old. Interesting. Other than the card players and Chespin, there are still several other Pokémon inside. Ekans slithers into a spiral in a darker corner of the decently sized house.

"Hey, I'm Skiddo," the goat with the grass back says with a smile. "I'm usually the supply runner for our town. You see, when we find items to bring back to the city, such as a bunch of Oran Berries, I carry the bags on my back through this little belt I loop around."

Turtwig and Squirtle glance at each other in confusion, but nod anyway. They turn to the other player, who immediately declares she has lost.

"I'm Ponyta. I usually run back to town while the others are still exploring so I can deliver important messages to the citizens. For example, if we know that a giant Pokémon is nearby, then I'll tell everyone about it!" the small, fiery pony explains.

One Pokémon from behind Turtwig runs forward in a straight line. He sniffs the air, turns around slowly, and greets the two trainees. He's apparently a Linoone, a Pokémon that can run really fast…but only in a straight line. It's both a blessing and a curse, but it hasn't been the latter in any survival situation, thank goodness.

"I'm one of the fastest members of the Expedition Team," he boasts.

Turtwig can't believe how many members are in this house. It appears to only fit maybe three—eleven in that large house, even, was kind of crammed—but there are five people in here instead. He asks about that, but the others just shrug and say their a close-knit group.

"There are actually six," Skiddo says, "but Scyther is out to pick some recruits. Aren't you people still doing the exam? Get back there!"

"We graduated early last night," Squirtle smiles. "Turtwig and I were in the top four of the fifteen!"

_Hmm…graduated. That term is kind of strong. More like "we did a bunch of random tests and we did decently okay." _Graduated? _Not quite_, Turtwig thinks to himself.

"Yeah, yeah, good for you. Now get out so I can eat my meal in peace. Some stupid chicken snatched it from my bare hands," remarks a very angry Chespin.

"If Combusken stole your dinner, why didn't you just eat breakfast? It's already lunchtime," Turtwig asks, eyebrows raised.

"…I don't do mornings," Chespin says back.

Squirtle and Turtwig depart with one half of the team so they can go ahead and meet the other half. They exit the first tree house and look straight down toward the western wall. Combusken has just smacked Wurmple so hard that it has fallen to the ground unconscious.

"He had eight points already," Squirtle remembers. "That means he has ten now."

The two turtles trot across a small rope bridge and reach another house, but this one occupies some of the citizens. They move onto the third house and find a ladder that they could go down to reach the Pokémon Gym.

"That's where the town leader is," Squirtle says in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I think you already showed me," Turtwig replies.

"Then let's go to the fourth house."

The two of them go past one _last _rope bridge and finally reach the top-right tree house in Fortree City. It's the Pokémon School—Turtwig remembers from where he ditched Fennekin the other day. He giggles at the thought of it, mostly because Fennekin doesn't really like kids…or anyone, really.

"Sorry, kids, but the other Expedition Team members are at the _bottom_-right house, so you'll have to use the lift," Ms. Miltank explains kindly after they had asked where the squad was. "But you can always join me for class! Learning is the key to survival, after all!"

"Nononono!" Squirtle wails as he runs off.

"We're, uh, kind of busy. Sorry about him," Turtwig offers as an apology, but Miltank sighs and walks into her loud class of children.

"I'll just maneuver the lift myself," Turtwig tells Squirtle once they reach the other one. "I hate waiting for others to help us."

. . .

"Wurmple, Fennekin, Wingull, Marill, and Shuppet, congratulations! You five have passed the entrance exam as well—and two of you with points over the requirement!" Scyther says with enthusiasm.

"What about Fletchinder and Raticate?" Marill asks in a concerned tone.

"They'll have to battle it out to see which one will make it," Scyther explains. "They've already battled before, with Fletchinder barely winning, so I'm excited to see how it plays out!"

"This is tiring," Fennekin replies with a near-dead expression on his face.

"And boring, too," Shuppet frowns. "No jokes out of this day."

Both second-stage Pokémon stand on either side of each other, similar to yesterday. This means it all.

"I have a child looking up to me. Don't you want me to make him proud?" Raticate pleads.

"I have myself and I want to be stronger," Fletchinder says without emotion.

"Okay, Pokémon, start!"

Fletchinder gets the first move, and he decides to start off with Aerial Ace. He flies high up in the air, higher than most of the Swablu that are casually gliding, and then dives down, breaking the air straight down as he fell. The black-yellow wings and piercingly dark beak turn white as the Japanese robin flies through the air, although now it is mere inches from the ground. Raticate watches in surprise as the sure-hit attack happens, surprisingly enough, to stop Raticate from even _attacking_. It seems to be in shock from something. But what?

. . .

"What do you think you're doing here? Only members of the Expedition Team are allowed to set foot in our house," the smug Unova starter remarks as she stands her ground in front of the tree house door.

"We're officially trainees, now! We just want to meet everyone!" Squirtle says in a pitiful tone.

"Well you're meeting every member you'll get to meet _right here! _I am in charge of this establishment, and you _children_ don't need to be here. Thank you for your service, but I don't need another 'hero' in my house," Snivy sneers.

The Grass Snake Pokémon extends a vine from her back and slaps Squirtle right in the face. Embarrassed, the water-type squirts a Water Gun back at her—a battle is about to erupt!

"Just stop it," a feminine voice says from inside the house.

"…Fine. You two can come in, but the first second you're annoying, be prepared to get kicked straight out," Snivy, defeated, pouts as she casually walks into the dark room.

The female Pokémon Turtwig had heard was this other grass starter—man, there are about four of them here!—that is sitting in the back of the house, near the window. The dinosaur-like Pokémon lies comfortably on a cushiony chair, and her giant leaf gently moves along with the slight western breeze.

"This is Chikorita. She likes to pretend she's some princess or something, I don't know. She tries to be nice, but she's not," Snivy says in a dull manner.

"Just because I'm the chipper one doesn't mean you can insult me. Besides, you're just too ugly to be nice," Chikorita counters.

"Now, now, ladies," another Pokémon, this time in a much deeper voice, replies. "We all know there is such a thing as ugly and nice. After all, we have Scyther!"

The whole crowd busts out laughing, and the mystery Pokémon turns out to be a Lairon.

"Well at least he doesn't make me worry that we're putting too much weight on the floor," Chikorita says.

"Now that's just downright rude. I wish Combusken would come up to defend me, but he's getting beaten to a pulp or something," Lairon complains.

The dual steel-/rock-type Pokémon looks odd. It seems very heavy due to its steel helmet and back. However, it does have a sense of humor, at least. It yawns, shifts around on the wooden floor, and falls asleep while the others keep talking. Turtwig frowns because it's as if this Pokémon is made fun of for something it can't help.

"Don't push it, kid. Those Pokémon are cold-hearted and annoying," barks some other Pokémon, probably the last in this house.

"Houndour, please," Chikorita sighs.

The Pokémon, after hearing its name, walks from the darkness of the room into the sunlight from the behind window. The silhouette is revealed to own a skull pattern on its forehead…the forehead of a black and orange dog! There are "shackles" on its feet and rib-like structures protruding from its back. It's a seemingly dark Pokémon, but one Turtwig could handle if given the right opportunity.

Snivy, sensing the depressing atmosphere upon Houndour's entrance, scoots Turtwig and Squirtle out of the half-squad's house. She apologizes for kicking them out for no reason, but explains that Houndour is going to have another episode if the fighting doesn't stop.

"You see, not only was Houndour a service dog for his trainer back before the apocalypse, but he had an older brother that raised him into the very dog he is today. That Houndour, along with his girlfriend, were eaten alive not too long ago by a wild giant. This one here has nothing left from his previous world: his family is gone, his trainer is gone…his life as he knows it is, well, _gone_. Thank you for stopping by (even if I didn't want you to), but please don't come back unless told to do so," Snivy says, pushing them onto the lift's square area.

She then slowly inches the rope downward so that the elevator descends. Inside, she can hear the other members trying to cheer up Houndour, but she knows it's no use. That house is nothing but a negative attitude…and it's affecting everyone. Even her. Despite the fact that she's an outspoken, albeit slightly sassy Pokémon, this depression has gotten to her the most. This world isn't like her previous one. It doesn't even come close.

. . .

The ten trainees, Turtwig, Squirtle, the previous two winners, and everyone but Raticate from last night, dine outside with a wonderful meal of Oran, Pecha, and Persim berries. The elongated picnic table sits the ten trainees, and on one end Scyther chows down as well.

"I'm so proud of all of you that have made it, but remember: you all have decided to put your lives on the line. Do with it what you will, but the promise will always come into play," Scyther reminds everyone.

"Wait for us!" Skitty says as she and Trapinch return from their jobs.

"You can sit here while I go to check on my veterans," the Expedition Team leader tells the Kitten Pokémon, and she sits in his place. Trapinch decidedly sits on the opposite end.

Turtwig is sitting at the top left, surrounded by Skitty and Squirtle, while the others are scattered. Trapinch occupies a spot by Shuppet, much to his dismay, and they all seem to get along for the most part.

"Hey, I have a big question," says Marill as he finishes his Oran berry.

"Well, what is it?" asks Wurmple. "Go on, tell us!"

"We keep calling these creatures monsters, giants, creatures…we need to come up with a universal name for them all. Something that means reckless, uncontrollable, and uncivilized. What should we call them, then?"

"Fennekin!" screams Shuppet.

"…No," Fennekin says with no amusement whatsoever.

A few Pokémon giggle to themselves, but Fennekin's evil eye is enough to make any humor cease immediately. It's that stare that makes Turtwig avoid the Pokémon in the first place.

"What about 'savages' or something?" suggests Wingull.

"_Savages_. I like that!" Turtwig says approvingly.

"Sounds good to me!" one Pokémon concurs.

"Oh yes, me too!"

"Savage it is, then!" Marill concludes with satisfaction.

Turtwig shifts uncomfortably in his seat at the thought of one of the Pokémon trying to hurt his friends, or even him. Why did he sign up for this squad again? There is just too much danger to try and reasonably survive in these conditions. Is it even healthy to put one's life on the risk like that?

_Savages. So these savages are responsible for the death of my trainer, then, _he reminds himself.

"I will not let them win! Death to savages!" Turtwig unknowingly screams out loud.

Everyone stares at him awkwardly at the table. There are eleven pairs of eyes on him, though he feels like he's staring at himself as well. The shell on his back stiffens up as his skin produces "chills."

"Turtwig, now is a good time to shrink down in your seat and remain unnoticed," Squirtle says quietly in his ear.

The rest of the night, Turtwig didn't say anything more than "good night" and "see you in the morning!" to several trainees. Even though he knows his adventure has just started, it feels like he's been going through it forever. He turns around to see Squirtle, Trapinch, and Skitty dead asleep.

_Did I just say dead? No, they're alive. Just asleep. Not _dead _asleep. Just asleep. My best friends are okay. My mind's playing tricks on me, _Turtwig tells himself as he drifts off to sleep.

_Mind's playing tricks on me. Just tricks._


	6. Chapter 5 Extra: Side Story 1

Note: First let me explain that every five chapters I plan on creating a short story dedicated to one of the main characters not named "Turtwig." To be qualified, the character basically needs to have played an important part within the past five chapters, or after the last short story. This one will focus on Squirtle's backstory! Enjoy!

* * *

_The Little Squirt _

_At the start of the Pokérus outbreak_

"La dee da dee da!" sings Squirtle as he uses Water Gun to water some plants growing in the ever-expanding garden.

Route 123 is a very breezy length of dirt roads. In fact, it is seldom used by trainers due to the fact that it's unnecessary. Many kids just surf straight to Lilycove City and ignore the little route with rich, nutrient-abundant soil. Squirtle loves this solitude because it gives him time to stick with his family—and his trainer.

"Huh?" he says aloud upon realizing that an Oran Berry is now fully grown. The first berry on the plant! "I have to tell the others!" he cheers as he picks the berry and sets it in a light-colored whicker basket.

"Squirtle! Where are you?" asks a familiar, masculine voice from the other side of the berry garden.

"Coming, Wartortle!" Squirtle screams back.

Wartortle was Squirtle's strong older brother. Not only did Wartortle do all the battling and protecting, but he was a great sibling as well. Squirtle mainly liked to pick flowers in his youth, but Wartortle was the one thing that could set him straight in any situation. Wartortle has this beautiful tail that is so fluffy—Squirtle has admittedly fallen asleep on it at times!

Squirtle walks over to the edge of the garden and sees a glint in the sunlight. He looks up at the sun, which was a definite mistake as his eyes then proceeded to become blinded, and then slowly moved his vision to a figure off in the distance. The glimmer of light came from the reflection of the sun on Wartortle's signature item—a Mystic Water that goes around his neck. Not only does it power water-type moves up, but it's a token from their father; it's important because their dad is from the Kalos region, and there aren't many Clawitzer in the Hoenn region. Therefore, he goes on trips to meet with his family again.

"Mom wants us, Squirtle," Wartortle replies solemnly.

"What's wrong? Is it our trainer again?" Squirtle frowns.

Their trainer—Squirtle should probably point out—is the Berry Master that lives in a small cottage right off from Mt. Pyre. He needs several water-type Pokémon in order to keep his berries from drying up in the sand. Squirtle and Wartortle were actually born on that very plot of land; the first word Squirtle even said was "Oran," based on the very popular Oran Berry.

"No, it's something…something else," Wartortle stares at his feet in shame.

The two of them walk, one small turtle moving beside a medium-sized turtle, toward the area where this special Blastoise is located.

The strong Kanto starter turns around to expose her purple body and green shell. She is the most beautiful Blastoise of them all; Squirtle has decided so himself. Her purple body really shows her feminine side, and the green shell distinguishes her from any other Blastoise. She's absolutely breathtaking.

They eventually arrive nearby their mother, though she never makes eye contact with either of them. Squirtle's mother blinks several times, a stream of tears leaking from her very face.

"Please, I need you two to leave the garden for both my sake and the master's," she whispers, her voice nearly hoarse with reluctance.

"We're not leaving you here alone, Mom!" Wartortle counters with a dumbfounded expression.

Blastoise stops using Water Gun on a Kelpsy berry plant and sighs to herself. She looks at her children, finally, with a very weak, very thin smile on her face. It's so fake that it could just dissolve right off with the batting of an eyelash.

"That new strain of Pokérus is turning Pokémon into monsters. They're killing anything and everything. This plantation is no longer safe since it has a large production of berries, a Pokémon's major dieting choice. You can't stay here to see what may or may not happen. I will not abandon our trainer, but you are not going to stay and go down with us," she says.

"I can't just leave you all like this!" Squirtle yelps with tears streaming down his face now. "We're a family! Family sticks together."

"Not this time," the mother replies solemnly. "This time, I want you out. In a month, it might blow over. If so, then you can come back to see what's happened. If we're not around," Blastoise goes quiet, but continues. "If we're not around, then you're just going to have to learn on your own."

"O-on my own?" Squirtle, shocked, repeats.

"Our trainer is sick—he told me he has _cancer_, or whatever that may be. I don't fully understand his situation, but it's not good. Humans don't do well with old age, much like us Pokémon," she says, trying to explain. "Honestly, you two need each other for survival. There are no big groups to save you—not until Fortree City. Since you cannot go by water due to the riptide currents, I want you to run through the long way and approach Fortree City. Don't look back for another month. Promise me," she insists.

"I c-can't leave my own mother!"

"Squirtle, please," she begs, her old eyes giving off a message of pity.

"I'll take him," Wartortle finally decides.

"You will do _nothing_ of the sort, Wartortle!" the younger brother protests.

"Neither of us have a choice. Don't make me use the move on you."

Squirtle tries to run off, but Wartortle grabs him, looks him in the eye, and then uses a super-fast Aqua Jet to knock the Pokémon straight out. Once the move is complete, Wartortle grabs Squirtle's Pokéball and recalls the Pokémon back in. For now, he will have to stay in there if he wants to survive.

"Thank you, Wartortle," Blastoise smiles, though she immediately turns her attention to the other side of the cottage.

"Something's coming. You need to go _now_!"

"But…but I can fight, too. I can at least delay the destruction!" Wartortle, just like his brother, begins to protest.

"Do not disobey your mother."

Wartortle looks at the Shellfish Pokémon, looks at the shiny appearance and tenderness in its eyes. Then, after nodding, he starts running the other way—running towards freedom, opportunity, and relief. Running towards his own death.

. . .

"Are we almost there yet?" Squirtle mumbles as they jump over a small ledge.

"No."

They continue walking for what seems like an eternity, though in reality it was nothing more than maybe three minutes. Squirtle groans, plops on the edge of a ledge, and folds his arms. Then, for another time, he opens his big mouth.

"What about now?"

"Nope."

They move on, this time with Squirtle ignoring the tiredness in his legs. He walks on for a much longer time, escaping over ledges and through the bushes. He fights and defeats a strong Zigzagoon as well, though his brother is not interested in the battle.

"Well, how about now?"

"If you don't shut your little blue mouth, I'll put you right back in that Pokéball," Wartortle says with slight amusement in his voice.

The pair, not even bringing a bag of berries or canister of water, soon find shelter in a cave while it begins to rain. From a far distance, screaming can be heard. Squirtle shoves his head in between his knees and puts his arms over his bald head.

"Make it go away, Wartortle," he whimpers.

"I would if I could, Squirtle. I honestly would if I could," Wartortle quietly replies.

Squirtle, distraught, tucks his whole body into his shell that night in order to get some decent peace and quiet. How is his mother? Is the trainer still battling this "cancer," or did he make it up? Is the garden still intact?

"I miss Mom already," he says out loud.

"I do, too," Wartortle whispers.

. . .

Squirtle wakes up to the smell of fresh berries. It was all a dream! None of this had actually happened; in fact, it was most likely just a figment of his endless imagination. Squirtle smiles at the thought of this, though he is still inside of his shell. The Pokémon doesn't exit yet because he's soaking up the happiness that's swelling inside his heart.

"Don't pretend it was a dream," Wartortle says plainly, as if he could read Squirtle's mind.

The Tiny Turtle Pokémon pops out of his shell and, much to his dismay, finds himself in the same small cave that he had slept in last night. He lets out an immensely long sigh and plops back onto the cold, hard ground.

"We made good time yesterday, though, so we'll make it to Fortree City by nightfall," Wartortle beams.

The two of them continue walking despite the lack of a breakfast. Squirtle, of course, begins to complain, so Wartortle quickly finds some wild Oran berries to somewhat satisfy their nearly-empty stomachs. The two of them eat in peace, and neither has met any threat to their home.

"Maybe we can steer on home now? It's all clear," Squirtle begs, though Wartortle shakes his head.

"Look, little squirt, I really want to go back, too. We're going to have to go to Fortree City first. We'll wait it out and then make a loop beside Mt. Pyre to swim on home. Does that sound good? I promise that I will do everything within my power to see this through," Wartortle says.

They proceed to walk for some time, though Squirtle sporadically would chase after a Combee or smell a flower he thought was pretty. Wartortle doesn't say anything so that the kid can enjoy his trip, but the older brother knows something is wrong. He frowns at whatever thoughts are going through his mind, but he blocks them out immediately once they take a turn for the worse. It's as if he's trying to manipulate them, like where you mess with a dream so the serial killer doesn't axe you in the face. Soon enough, the two of them pass by the Weather Institute, which was taken over by Team Magma back before the outbreak went into effect.

"I can't wait until we get there! We're almost there," Squirtle chirps as he runs through fields of flowers.

"It's almost _too _easy," Wartortle says quietly to himself, though he doesn't let Squirtle hear.

"We'll make it in no time!"

Wartortle continues to lower his mouth in an "n" shape. He thinks about these threats he has heard, though there has never been an experience yet.

_Are they made up?_ he thinks to himself.

They continue walking, now passing the Weather Institute. Squirtle did want to venture inside, but Wartortle countered with an "I thought you wanted to get there on time!" excuse. The water-type evolution stages walk side by side, step by step, plainly. Suddenly, Wartortle senses something watching them from somewhere in the trees. He automatically thinks back to what had happened right before he left.

"_I want you to recall Squirtle in his Pokéball if things get out of hand," his mother had warned._

"_Yes, mother. I can't let Squirtle experience the evils humanity has accidentally unleashed on us all," Wartortle said._

"_You can fend for yourself, but Squirtle is still young; he will only get in your way, after all, and you need to focus on your battling to save both of your lives. That Pokémon will be chasing Budew instead of helping you out. It's okay, though, don't judge. He's still a child," she continued._

"_I don't know if I can keep us both alive, but Squirtle is my top priority."_

"_Oh, Wartortle. You've always been my favorite."_

"_Mom, don't say that. A parent is supposed to love her children equally," he frowned._

"_I know, but I'm telling you that so you will promise to bring my other baby back to me if all goes well. I'm sending you away to protect him. Please, just keep him safe," she begged._

"_I promise I will do my best. Now you must promise me that we will have a mother to come back to."_

"_I can't make that promise and you know it. If you were looking for one, then you're a fool and a coward. I have raised you, Wartortle, to be a warrior. You are this little boy's pride and joy. He looks up to you as his father figure—your father is, well, usually in Kalos. I'm surprised he hasn't left me yet," she said with no emotion in her face._

"_Don't say that," Wartortle screamed, clawing at his mother's belly._

"_Or maybe he's already gone…either way, you two must leave tomorrow. I love you, son," she ended the conversation and walked away._

"_I…I love you, too. I will put Squirtle in his Pokéball if anything goes wrong," Wartortle finished as he puts the red-and-white ball inside of his shell. _

Wartortle snaps out of his trance and quickly looks toward Squirtle. It's still chasing that Combee, though he's starting to get farther away. Wartortle starts rushing toward him when all of a sudden he sees the feet of one of the giant Pokémon right behind Squirtle, who is facing Wartortle at the moment. The silhouette is too dark to identify, but Wartortle screams for Squirtle to come toward him.

Squirtle hears the plea and begins walking slowly, though he's anticipating it to be a joke. He laughs as he walks, though he hears something in the bushes. Not looking back, the Pokémon begins to sprint as something runs right behind him.

It's a Munchlax. There's a giant, Pokémon-eating creature _right behind _Squirtle. Wartortle fumbles in his shell for the right item.

"Leftovers? Nope! Amulet Coin? Nope! Pokéball? Yes!" Wartortle says to himself, throwing random items out of his hoarder of a shell.

The Turtle Pokémon then runs toward Squirtle as it runs towards him. He can feel the blue Mystic Water necklace fumble against his stomach as he tries to get in the range of his brother. Wartortle then gets a better grip on the Pokéball, turns it the correct way, and points the thing straight at the Tiny Turtle.

"Return!" he screams as the "little squirt" is taken aback from the Pokéball.

Wartortle smiles at the Pokéball with tears beginning to spill from the sockets of his eyes. He then throws the ball as far as he possibly could, and then even uses Water Gun to spit it even farther. It lands on top of a bush, although it's slightly covered by the foliage, and Wartortle moves his attention back to the Munchlax.

The Pokémon-like creature stomps very hard as it runs for food. Wartortle could hear its moaning for food, its _cry_ for desperate, suicidal Pokémon.

"Muuuuuu," it groans.

"It can make a sound?" Wartortle gasps. "No matter. Let's do this!"

Wartortle surrounds himself in a jet of water and rockets toward the head of the creature. Confused on how to kill it, he begins attacking first its head, then its stomach, and then finally its feet. With no success and very little damage inflicted, Wartortle is out of words to describe the thing.

"How am I supposed to…?"

Wartortle uses Hydro Pump and expels an impressive amount of water from its mouth, though soaked fur is the only result of the move. The force of the water was basically absorbed into Munchlax's body. The Pokémon stares at him, intrigued, and uses Stockpile. Not only does it grow much, much larger, but its defenses are even better than before. Speechless, Wartortle glances toward the untouched Pokéball that contains his brother.

_Just protect him,_ thought Wartortle. _Protect Squirtle._

Wartortle then proceeds to use Rapid Spin, spiraling around Munchlax's body in order to find a weak spot. He starts from the toes and circles up in a quick motion. Once he gets close to the neck, he notices a small little pink spot—almost like an Achilles Heel type of thing—and aims a strong Hydro Pump at it.

Before the attack hits, however, Munchlax turns to face Wartortle and uses Swallow. Acting like a vacuum cleaner, Munchlax raises its head high up in the air and swallows the energy it had stored from Stockpile. In the process, Wartortle began to gravitate toward the black hole of the devil; his shell, despite spinning in a quick motion, was being pulled in!

"No!" he screams, unleashing another Hydro Pump.

The blast from the attack does penetrate the nape of the neck somehow, but it's unclear to Wartortle on whether or not he has defeated it. He closes his eyes and proceeds to be sucked into the body of the Pokémon. In due time, it will die. Hopefully it would not have already digested him when that time comes. Without knowing what may or may not lie ahead, Wartortle admits defeat and allows himself to get sucked in—sucked into a world where he will never visit his poor, lonely mother ever again.

. . .

"Hey, look what I've found!" a voice comes from a grassy patch in the forest.

Suddenly, a Scyther approaches the bush that Squirtle's Pokéball is on top of. He picks up the item and tosses it between his scythes. A peculiar item for sure, but it appears that there is some sort of thing inside. A Pokémon? An item? Another Pokéball?

"Let me open it," another voice—a feminine, sassy one—replies from Scyther's left.

Snivy's Vine Whip taps the button on Squirtle's Pokéball, and he is finally unleashed. The red outline clears away once he escapes from the spherical prison cell.

"Wartortle?! Wartortle, where are you? This isn't funny! Wartortle?!" Squirtle panics, looking behind trees, alongside a few bushes, and even under a rock.

"There is no Wartortle here—only the Fortree City Expedition Team. Do you know where you are from?" the green bug asks.

"Yes…but I'm not allowed to go there until a month after I've left," Squirtle says with a tint of sadness in his voice.

"When did you leave?"

Squirtle, confused, cannot tell what day it is. How long was he in that Pokéball? An hour, maybe two? Or a week? Time is difficult when you're trapped inside a human-made contraption.

"I'm not sure," he admits.

"We'll take you to Fortree City and care for you there," the Grass-type replies, though she doesn't seem sassy this time.

"Th-thank you. Are you sure you haven't seen my brother? Darker blue body, wing-like ears? Has a fluffy tail?"

"Afraid not. Tell us what happened while we walk back to Fortree City. I can send a small search group out if necessary," the green commander decides.

"Well…alright," Squirtle says, though he doesn't seem to be focused on them.

Squirtle looks up into the starry night sky and whimpers. In the stars, he can make out what seems to be an image of his brother—the round head, the wing ears…He shakes his head and they're gone. Is he still alive?

Squirtle looks back to the place where he had last seen his brother. Nothing was left but damp ground and footprints. Large footprints. Squirtle looks forward again and never turns his head back around.

Lying on a skinny tree branch is, unbeknownst to Squirtle and the others, a small necklace with a dark blue tear at its base—the Mystic Water. It glistens in the trees as the starlight shines right on the smooth, calm surface.


	7. Chapter 6: Arrival

_Chapter 6: Arrival_

"H-help me! Help!" a voice cries out toward the western wall of Fortree City. "I need some help!"

The Pokémon, an elephant-trunked, brown-bellied bipedal creature with an awkwardly creepy appearance, runs through the gates and into the middle of town, where it cries loudly for the rest of the population to hear.

"Now, now, what's wrong?" asks Turtwig's now-commander, Scyther. "Surely nothing could be too bad since you can just put a Pokémon to sleep, Drowzee!"

"You don't understand! My survival group was eaten alive…I'm all that's left," the Pokémon says, its trunk swinging left and right as it sobs.

"I understand. You're welcome here if you feel the need to stay," Scyther offers, and the Pokémon eagerly nods in agreement.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he whispers. "May Arceus bless you!"

. . .

"Did you say that a _survivor_ came into town?" Turtwig asks Squirtle in disbelief.

The two of them are the only ones left in the cabin; all the others went to go visit the mysterious Pokémon. The turtles sit side by side, shell by shell, and talk about the newest visitor to the town.

"Yep! I can't believe it, either. His name is Drowzee. Apparently he's the last one out of his group alive. If you want to go see him, I heard from Tropius that he's in the Pokémon Center being tended to at this very moment," Squirtle says with a hint of excitement in his voice.

The two Pokémon descend from the tree house via the wooden square elevator, and they quickly decide to run into the red-roof building in order to hear the stranger's tale of the past. The grass, freshly cut by several Leaf Blades and Cut attacks, brushes past their feet in a softly-prickled manner—much like the feeling of a fresh buzz-cut in the military.

Turtwig hurriedly hobbles into the Pokémon Center and runs down the halls, speeding through several patients and nurses. He zips into the room on the back-right of the building—because of the loud sounds coming from the ever-so-crowded hospital room, it's easy to spot. He enters through the doorway, leaving Squirtle to follow his previous tracks, and shoves his way into a comfortable place within the room. Somehow, though, he got stuck in between the bananas of Tropius's chin and Shuppet's awkward laughter. Sighing, he ignores them and listens to the Psychic-type.

The Pokémon, a mix of yellow and brown, resembles an elephant in the trunk it possesses, though Turtwig thinks it is more closely related to a chicken because of his several casts and bandages. He's lying on a hospital bed of white, surrounded by a room of white, and flaunts the battle wounds—all covered in white.

_He doesn't need all that, does he? If he was running in town…did adrenaline really help that much?_ he asks himself.

"So there I was—minding my own business—when I heard a scream. It was actually this Furret nearby, though I don't know if she died or not. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure if she was a Furret. It just _sounded_ like a Furret. You know how Furret sou—" Drowzee continues, sees everyone eyeing him earnestly, and decides to move on with the story. "Obviously, though, I ran away from my group while they all died. I couldn't help it, though. Running is what I'm good at."

At this point, several Pokémon were looking at the weirdly-clawed nubs that end Drowzee's legs. Skitty, the nurse tending to Drowzee's cuts and bruises, shivers when looking at them. He frowns at the sight of her disapproval, but quickly forgoes the judgment and continues with his story.

"Anyway, I ran as far as I could for a little old Psychic-type…and I plopped right into town! Good story, huh?"

Many Pokémon are now looking at each other with that "I could come up with a better story that that" face. Turtwig greets Skitty quietly, and she smiles as he pushes his way over to her. Drowzee immediately screams about a hurt toe, and, after seeing Skitty gently put a bandage overtop it, looks at Turtwig with a crap-eating grin on his face.

"What savage did you encounter?" Wingull asks politely, his wings flapping in both nervousness and excitement

"Uh, I don't remember," Drowzee says, quickly blushing at the fact that he ran away before seeing his opponent.

_This guy's a real coward_, Turtwig thinks to himself. _I could protect my group better than that._

"You said you heard another Pokémon scream in pain?" Squirtle mentions, though he's still stuck in the doorway.

"Yes, but I don't know where she is. I'm sure she lasted longer than my group, at least," Drowzee says again, though he doesn't seem to care about the well-being of that Pokémon.

"Well we should go after her," replies Bunnelby, but then Drowzee looks meanly at her.

"I'm not going back out there. Find her yourself!"

"What?! What kind of Pokémon are you?" Turtwig fires at the elephant-like Pokémon, but Skitty inches in between the two brawling Pokémon.

"Can you tell me where you heard the scream originate?" Skitty asks tenderly, gently rubbing his neck with her bushy pink tail.

"It's near the Weather Station for sure. I bet that Pokémon is desperate for survival as well. You shouldn't go, my lady," Drowzee says calmly, grabbing Skitty's front paw with his hand. "It's much too dangerous for an angel like you."

Skitty blushes slightly, though it quickly fades away once Turtwig jumps on Drowzee's hospital bed and looks him straight in the eyes.

"Look, Mr. Psychic Survivor. I wouldn't care if your trunk got tied in a knot. Point is, we want to save that Furret. What part of the river was she on?" he yells, spit flying onto Drowzee's face.

"I don't know," he replies, looking back and forth suspiciously.

"TELL ME NOW!" Turtwig bellows.

"Fine, fine. I saw her while I was running. She was on the other side of the river. I would've stopped to help her out, but I'd much rather not risk my own skin just to save her hide for a day, maybe two tops. Happy? You can't grill much else out of me now. I'm not going out there in the wilderness again, you hear?" Drowzee pouts.

"I will sent a rescue party out myself," Scyther says, surprising all of the trainees upon his entrance into the doorway. "She will be saved."

"Thank you. Now, everyone," Drowzee smiles at first, but then shifts his eyes on Turtwig on the word "_everyone_."

"Now what?" someone whispers in the back.

"Now leave me alone. I'm sleepy and hungry and need to go to the bathroom," he barks.

The several Pokémon file into the hallway, and eventually most of them are out of the hospital within five minutes. Turtwig walks with Skitty and Trapinch down the hallway, but he's immediately stopped by Scyther.

"I was going to stop your diatribe, but you got the information we needed. Be prepared—you're going on your first expedition soon. I've chosen you because I'm beginning to trust you at a fast rate, so don't ruin that trust. I'm hoping you can at least battle decently. This is not a practice, either. This is official survival business. When someone's about to die, that's when we intervene," Scyther, majestically, yells into the hallway.

Chansey, an egg-shaped Pokémon with an egg in its pouch, peeks in and whispers that there are Pokémon asleep in the rooms on either side of the hallway.

"So shut up, please."

Once they have exited the hallway, Skitty bids the three Pokémon farewell for now, and Trapinch later does the same. Turtwig and Scyther walk side-by-side out of the hospital and to the trainee cabin.

"I will make sure to not let you down!"

"If you do, then don't expect to stay on the team for too long," Scyther replies before he walks away without warning.

Turtwig, alone, stands frozen in his tracks on his way to the cabin. Was that a threat…or a promise…or what?

"Hey, we should check up on some of the townspeople!" Squirtle nudges Turtwig after he manages out of the hospital.

"That's a great idea!" Turtwig says, though there's a little hesitation in his voice.

_RAAAAAAAAH!_

"Help me! Please!" a shrill cry follows the loud roar, though both calls are distant and hard to hear.

"Did you hear that?" Squirtle asks as Turtwig's head nods ferociously.

"That was Furret I bet. I'm going to help save it!" Turtwig cheers.

"We should report the scream to Scyther," Squirtle suggests, and Turtwig agrees one hundred percent.

. . .

Wings. _Wings._ Trapinch can see himself now, flying over the puffy clouds, glancing at his graceful reflection in the ocean, secretly laughing at all the grounded Pokémon. Wings! All he needs is a pair of wings to finally feel the dream come true.

Trapinch daydreams atop the wall, where he sits alone and gazes across the green treetops that conflict with the orange sun.

"What I wouldn't do for a pair of wings…" Trapinch sighs to himself as he continues to dream on.

Suddenly, his ant-like body vibrates as the ground goes into shock from a hard stomp. The leaves of a few treetop clusters start shaking, and many wild Spearow fly out of them in panic and fear. Trapinch closes his eyes tightly, but he hears a _Schwoooooooooooop_ and, because of his curiosity, is forced to see the teleporting Ralts observe the same scene he is staring at.

"Is it coming toward us?" he asks.

"I'm not…I'm not sure," Ralts says undecidedly.

A storm of dirt and rubble erupts out of the soil a couple hundred yards from the castle. The earth shakes at a much larger frequency, though it abruptly ceases without a trace. Everything is quiet. Trapinch glances over at Ralts, but she's just as shocked.

"Stay here," she says as she teleports to inform Swellow, who is the supposed Chief of Guards and Defenses.

The sun begins to set behind the trees slowly, and Trapinch begins to shake as night sets in place of where the sunlight used to be. There is no other sign of Pokémon, of life, of survival. Not at all. It's dead quiet outside of the walls. Trapinch turns around to see the city bustling with activity and happiness. Smiling, he spins around to continue watching over the town.

. . .

_Meanwhile, down on ground level…_

"For our emergency Furret expedition tomorrow, I have the several trainees that I want to take on the trip. I spoke to you all privately if you are on the list, so you know who you are: Bunnelby, Shuppet, Turtwig, and Wingull! The rest of you, of course, will get your chance to explore. However, these four strike me as fierce competitors, so I want to see what they've got. Thank you for your time, everyone. You may all go to bed now! See you tomorrow morning—I want all of you to get up at 7:00 am sharp to see off your friends. Until then!" Scyther calls out into the air, hoping several—if not all—of the trainees will hear his announcement, and then walks back over to the ladder so he can return to his bed.

Once all the trainees are finally in their beds, Turtwig begins thinking about the trip tomorrow. If he messes this up, then that's it for him. If he doesn't, though, there will be some serious rewards to come out of it. Turtwig bites down on his blanket's front while he excitedly imagines the expedition.

Skitty, Trapinch, and Squirtle are all sprawled out on their small beds asleep, but Turtwig is just lying their fully awake.

_I know that my friends aren't worried for me and all, but still. Even if I do manage to find Furret, I may die in the process. I can't just leave my friends like that…they need me and I need them. I have to come back alive for the whole lot of us!_ he thinks to himself, obviously feeling important in his own right.

Turtwig eventually dreams that night of Drowzee proposing to a Skitty head and tail connected to a Scyther's green body. He immediately screams out, though not loudly, and wakes up. What is that supposed to mean? He passes out after the quick awakening, and this time he absorbs as much energy as he can for the upcoming trip that will test both his skills as a survivor and a battler.


	8. Chapter 7: Firsts

_Chapter Seven: Firsts_

_Shhh!_

Turtwig tiptoes out of the tree house and zips down the ladder carefree—he didn't even use the elevator! He and Shuppet, who effortlessly gets to hover around, woke up early and decided to watch the sun rise before breakfast.

"Let's get to the top!" Shuppet eagerly whispers, and he hovers up there while Turtwig waits for Ralts.

Turtwig rereads the sign that stands in front of the western wall.

"Ralts Transport: Stand here to be teleported up to the top of our Defense System. –Ralts."

_Sssshhhwoooop!_

Turtwig is automatically sent to the top of the wall, though the in-between gap of time and space was filled with purple swirls and indescribable scenes that Turtwig couldn't seem to grasp the understanding of.

"May Dialga and Palkia forgive my disturbance of time and space," Ralts whispers as she sends Turtwig through.

"What happened to them?" Turtwig asks aloud despite knowing Ralts has no idea.

"Your guess is as good as mine," she sighs.

She then whispers the same line and teleports away from the wall's top. Shuppet hovers over and looks out at the sun as it rises about the sea of trees.

"It's beautiful," he says in a trance-like state.

"The sun is one of the only things that hasn't changed in this world," Turtwig remarks. "I feel like this is what keeps us sane. The same sky, the same sun…even the landscapes have changed, though. I miss the world we lived in not too long ago."

"I wish I was never born," Shuppet pouts quietly, though he quickly laughs and starts whispering jokes to himself.

Turtwig ignores the weird puppet, though something still seems odd in the atmosphere. He looks ahead of the wall. Escaping the isolation of Fortree City lies a small path that all squad members are guided down for supply runs. Today, though, this is a rescue mission. Turtwig may even save a life.

"This is going to be exciting," Shuppet whispers, almost as if he's reading Turtwig's mind at this very moment. "I hope we don't die."

Death. Turtwig has never grasped the concept of death. Where does a Pokémon go after it has left the earth? Is there a greater power behind the clouds he knows, a giant Pokéball to rest in forever? Or does the soul of the Pokémon merely stare at its former corpse for thousands of years as it wastes away? What if Turtwig becomes a ghost? What if it just turns to darkness?

"We won't," Turtwig finally decides.

"It would be cool to almost die, though," Shuppet says. "I want to feel the adrenaline rush through my veins."

Turtwig wonders whether or not Shuppet have veins, but he understands what the Ghost-type means all the same. He glances up as the sun finally escapes the clutching trees. It finally broke free from the ground and, unsurprisingly, has cast a bright beam of sunlight in triumph.

"I was found in an abandoned house," Shuppet interrupts, "by our trainer. My former trainer, a mere child, abandoned me when his parents bought him a Snorunt to keep him company on their move to Snowpoint City in Sinnoh. I was left behind because, well, Ghost-types like me don't make great companions for children. I became alone and lived by myself. She found me and quickly grew close to my humor and trickery. I was in her Pokéball before I knew it." At this point, Shuppet was smiling. "I miss her."

"I miss her, too. I wish we could see her again…just one more time.

"When she caught me…I didn't find any negative emotions to feed off of. I was speechless. Every human I've met has been remorseful, but her? She was happy. You were happy, too. I remember you meeting me for the first time when she sent me out of the Pokéball. Good times. Skitty was there, too—and Marill! Trapinch and Fennekin came later, I think, but I still had fun with just the six of us."

"Maybe one day this could all reverse or we could at least live as a group in harmony or—" Turtwig begins, but Shuppet shakes his head.

"You know that can't happen," Shuppet says.

_I hope that I get to escape from this world in happiness,_ Turtwig thinks to himself. _I want things to go back the way they were before._

Just like Shuppet said, though, it was obvious that nothing would ever be the same.

"Let's go eat breakfast," Turtwig smiles, though it's not an authentic smile; instead, it's one of those encouraging smiles that are hopeful and pointless.

. . .

Scyther stretches his scythes out and lets out a large yawn. He rubs an eye (though not with the tip if his scythe!) and scratches his back with his elbow. Looking over the crowd of both trainees and members, he grins at the sign of both respect and appreciation.

"Hello, everyone. I have decided that we—myself, Snivy, Ekans, and Chespin—will split into two teams and take two trainees each. In the team of Chespin and myself, we will be taking Bunnelby and Shuppet. Snivy and Ekans have the pleasure of escorting Turtwig and Wingull around. Everyone else, I expect you to be training! No exceptions—not even for you, Wurmple. No inching around slowly today," Scyther announces, and the end causes several Pokémon to giggle.

_Snivy?! Did I really just get stuck with Snivy? This trip is not going to be fun at all, now. Shuppet has Scyther himself and I'm stuck with his stuck-up apprentice, _Turtwig complains to himself.

"Let's go, you two," Snivy says to Wingull and Turtwig.

Ekans slithers by and follows closely behind Snivy, but Wingull and Turtwig walk slower and keep making glances toward their buddies. The whole town waves as they exit the gates. The wall is so massive, so heavy, yet there is a small, gaping hole that serves as the connection between Fortree City, between Turtwig, and the outside world.

Upon reaching the edge of the town, right underneath the wall's opening, Turtwig breathes in deeply. This is going to be his first time outside since he was rescued by Scyther and the group. He is actually going to be a rescuer himself. He looks up at the arching doorframe and jumps through. It's official! He is now a wanderer, a rescuer, a survivor.

He looks back. Trapinch, Fennekin, Marill, and Skitty—the other four members of his original gang—are still waving, plus Squirtle is jumping in front of them all to get the last wave in. Turtwig and Shuppet jerk back without any more glances and decide to continue on through their first expedition.

"Don't get your tail kicked!" Skitty screams as the gates close.

"We are going to split at the Weather Institute," Scyther says to the group.

"I like the Institute. I usually find all kinds of nuts and berries," Chespin says while smacking his belly.

"Watch out, the savages might find you in their bellies!" Shuppet smirks, though Chespin looks at him with the least bit of amusement.

The group of eight quickly jogs through the first mile of thick woods and overturned tree trunks, with only Chespin lagging behind slightly. They maneuver past cracked boulders and hop over stains on the yellowed grass. There isn't a savage in sight. It's weird…almost comforting. However, with the ominous presence of something in the atmosphere, Turtwig decides to stay on his toes.

Along the way, Turtwig notes the unbelievably strong trees are still standing, but many others have been tossed to the ground. There are stains of blood everywhere, and he even thinks to have seen a mangled corpse off in the distance. These creatures are tough and scary. One stomp of the foot and anything underneath is good as dead. Speaking of which, varying footprints are stamped into the ground. Some may look like a paw print, though others may simply be a line from slithering or small specks from simple, rounded feet. The sky isn't as vivid as it used to be; the blues are more faded and have aged faster.

Soon enough, the road splits along the river. To the northwest lies the building, though to the northeast there is a hard-to-reach bicycling trail that is perfect for hiding. Furret could be anywhere, after all, since there is no telling even if the Pokémon is alive.

"My group will take the institute. Snivy, I'm counting on you to lead these Pokémon to the bushes and scout for the survivor there," Scyther says. "I'm taking my team of Chespin, Bunnelby, and Shuppet. You and Ekans have Wingull and Turtwig if you recall."

With that, both the Normal- and Ghost-type trainees disappear as they eventually get out of eyesight from Turtwig's group. Snivy leads them onto the edge of the river, where there is a very thin platform made for special types of bikes.

"Gulp," Wingull whispers even though he can simply fly to the other side.

"The pressure is on," Turtwig says in response.

. . .

"Bunnelby, how is your family? Do you know?" Shuppet asks.

"To be honest, I don't think they're around anymore. We were running outside one day and I got behind while trying to save one of my sisters from a savage. I think it was the same one that killed the Houndour and Glameow back a while ago. The other Houndour brother is so upset," Bunnelby interrupts his thinking with the memory of the other Houndour. "But anyway, they were all wounded and I couldn't find them anywhere. Snivy found me hiding one day and took me straight to the Pokémon Center, and then to Miltank's school. I miss home," Bunnelby, with its chocolate-dipped ears, whines.

They have finally reached the Weather Institute. The building is grand, though battered and trashed. It stands tall over the surrounding environment, but not proud. It's severely weak and may not stand for much longer.

"I remember training in there one time," Scyther daydreams. "I learned X-Scissor in this very building while battling a band of thieves."

"I'm sorry, Bunnelby, for bringing that up," Shuppet completely ignores Scyther's comment, much to the Bug-type's dismay.

"Let's enter the grey building, then," Chespin says out loud, finally chiming in his little opinion. "I'm tired of storytelling."

. . .

"Faster, everyone!" Snivy barks as she hops from one skinny bike section to the next.

"These are very sssssmall pathwaysss," Ekans says as he slithers to the edge of the first plank.

"Ditch the dialect. I hate your long "ssss" sounds," Snivy replies.

Ekans manages to move onto the next one and ended up getting the hang of it. Down below these paths is a raging waterfall and a river. Wingull casually flies over the river and to the other side, where Snivy is waiting. Turtwig is the only one who hasn't attempted it yet.

"Come on," the commander orders.

"Okay," Turtwig mutters, but four-legged creatures do _not _have the upper hand in this type of situation.

He takes one step and manages to put one foot straight in front of the other. This is the only way he can even manage to get across. As Wingull cheers him on, Turtwig desperately walks along the narrow path.

_Snap!_ One of the slim planks breaks as Turtwig's weight presses down on it. Turtwig quickly loses his footing and dives headfirst. As the others scream, Wingull flies to help Turtwig up. He grabs onto Turtwig's leaves, but he has to let go—at the rate Turtwig is going at, Wingull would be doomed as well. Snivy's vines extend as Turtwig continues to fall. However, they snap together right after Turtwig lands in the river and quickly heads downstream. As the group watches in disbelief, Turtwig loses connection with his one last piece of society.

"We jusst lossst our new trainee! What are we going to do!?" Ekans panics.

"I…I don't know. We're going to have to follow the river and find him," Snivy decides, immediately abandoning the idea of exploring the difficult location.

As they yell and scream, Turtwig drifts farther and farther away as the water pushes him away from his friends. His immediately feeling is numbness; the cold sensation has yet to hit him.

. . .

"Whoa! Berries!" Shuppet gasps as he opens a small brown sack found inside one of the cabinets of the Weather Institute's many offices.

Inside are several Oran berries, which are delicacies considering it's almost impossible to grow anything. The only harvester in town is this Phantump that stays to himself, and not even Shuppet has been to him before for food.

"Congrats! That's a good find," Scyther cheers.

"I found some empty Pokéballs," Bunnelby says, though he doesn't seem impressed by the find.

"Those might come in handy if we need to retreat fast," Chespin announces.

"Yes, but then we'd have to catch all of our townspeople and that may be hard," Scyther counters.

Bunnelby holds the red-and-white ball up to the sunlight that gleams through the window. One of them has a small seal on it, probably some Pokémon Coordinator of the past. Bunnelby tosses it between his hands and feels of its spherical shape. The button still clicks, too.

"Keep them anyway," Scyther, looking puzzled, says to Bunnelby.

The Pokémon, slightly stunned, shoves all the Pokéballs into its mouth and keeps looking. Shocked, Shuppet's mouth gapes open as he watches the bunny put ball after ball inside it.

Chespin runs up a flight of rickety stairs, but Scyther keeps the trainees on the ground floor so they can find any merchandise that may be of use to them. He claims that, as a science-based building, there should be various gadgets and gizmos that they can use. If they don't grab them now, a savage could tear the place down any minute.

"It's a wonder that it's still standing," he says.

Chespin comes back down from the top floor with only another Pokéball in his hand. No sign of Furret at all—just a bunch of tossed chairs and smears of red.

"Let's get out of here, then. This place gives me the creeps," Chespin decides for the group.

"Good idea—we can't stay here forever," Scyther ultimately declares, and the group follows him outside the building and back over to where the others broke off to the other direction.

. . .

It's so cold. The quick whips of the current makes it impossible for escape. The rushing water is just enough to trap Turtwig; he can't even swim out. Every time he tries, he gets pulled in farther. After failing to grab hold of some of the rocks that rise above the river, Turtwig decides to ride until he can find a good tree branch hanging toward the water.

Around him is almost like a tunnel of trees, all bent and curved toward the river. There isn't a Pokémon in sight. Turtwig remembers fighting a wild Kecleon in this region; he won with a quick Razor Leaf.

Now, however, he is being defeated by the terrain itself. At points, he slips underneath the river's surface. He falls into the clear river and sees the occasional fish Pokémon.

_I can't exactly bring them back to the town,_ Turtwig sadly reminds himself.

Between gasps of breath, Turtwig finally found a branch hanging overhead. He throws his two nubby front legs out and grabs hold of the branch, but the force of the water pushes him further. He doesn't even let go of the chance for safety. It actually breaks off the tree and follows him. Hopeless, he continues to move farther from society.

_It's no use in screaming; I could attract anyone's attention…even a savage's._

Turtwig splashes down an unexpected, albeit small, waterfall and lands back down flat in the water. He's at least able to overcome the water's rage and stick his head back out into the air. He breathes loudly, taking in gulps of air. Looking beyond, there is another waterfall that seems at least twice as large as the past one. Turtwig begins frantically panicking in the water when he remembers a move he was taught in Sinnoh.

Suddenly, at his will, Turtwig summons several rocks to quickly cover his path. Stealth Rock was the move, he remembers. The rocks form a dam right in front of Turtwig, and of course he slams into them and loses part of his health. Even though he is weaker, Turtwig is at least not going over the rocks and down the waterfall, which is only about 10 yards beyond him.

Turtwig slowly manages his way to the bank of the river and slumps on the ground. He's finally free from the river! Soon after he escaped the water, the rocks he summoned were overcome with water and washed downstream.

The sunlight is shining harshly, so Turtwig uses this opportunity to heal himself up with Synthesis. His leaves glow white and he absorbs as much warmth and sunlight as he can to heal himself from the rush of the water and slam from the rocks.

Turtwig looks at the river, the criminal that almost took his life away. He then smiles and falls to the ground on his rump. Yes, he's finally sitting on solid ground! Turtwig appreciates the earth more and more. Turning around by instinct of someone watching him, Turtwig sees this ferret-like Pokémon knocked out cold on the ground next to him. Its body is long and tan, though there are rings of dark brown around the tail. The poor Pokémon looks like it fell from the trees and smacked its head.

"This must be Furret!" Turtwig says with enthusiasm. "I've found her!"

_Wait, is it a her?_ Turtwig, puzzled, sits down on a tree stump and contemplates.

Desperate, Turtwig looks for something that could possibly heal Furret. The trees are empty. The bushes are empty. Turtwig runs between stumps, around foliage, and across mud to finally find an Oran Berry that is lying, half squashed, on the ground. The blue hemisphere will at least serve a decent job of sending some health Furret's way.

"Eat this," he whispers, ripping a small piece off and slinging it in her mouth. "Ew, I hate fruit," he says after getting his feet wet.

He therefore puts them in the river and cleans off the leftover stickiness. He turns around and starts walking back when he sees the formerly-KO'd Pokémon raise up and look around at her surroundings.

"Where am I?" she asks in a feminine voice (she is a girl!).

"You're Furret, right?"

She nods. Turtwig sighs in relief and helps her up onto her feet. He explains that he's been sent on a mission from another survivor to save her and bring her into their safe town. She seems to understand most of what he says, though she's very dazed.

"What are those things?" she asks, and Turtwig knows exactly what she means by "things."

"I've barely caught a glimpse of one, but we call them 'savages' because of their almost stupid mind and randomly violent behavior," Turtwig explains.

Suddenly, the ground starts to tremble. The treetops are vigorously thrashing against each other; even the Spearow are clearing the trees. They fly away toward Fortree City, though the trees do not stop their odd behavior. The pulsations, almost like aftershocks from an earthquake, are getting stronger. Trees begin to collapse; Turtwig can hear them fall.

"We need to get out of here fast," he whispers to Furret, who quickly agrees and starts running against the river's current.

"I don't want to be eaten," she whispers.

Turtwig gallops as fast as he can, though he occasionally stops to summon Stealth Rocks in order for the creature to experience pain as it walks along the trail they follow.

The vibrations get stronger, the tree-shaking more violent, and the suspense rises to maximum levels. Turtwig and the survivor keep going full speed until the sounds and quakes immediately stop. It's gone—all of it.

"Um, where did it go?" Furret asks fearfully.

"We need to move it. Don't worry about where it went. For all we know, it could be digging right under our feet. It's important that we make our way to the Weather Institute so that my survivor group can take us in and help protect against the savages," Turtwig says with, for the first time since the outbreak, a rather confident tone filled with both adrenaline and controlled doses of fear.


	9. Chapter 8: Wrapping Up

_Chapter 8: Wrapping Up_

"We need to go faster!" Furret screeches as she dives underneath a low branch and continues scurrying toward the Weather Institute.

"It's not following us anymore!" Turtwig says as he trots as fast as his stubby legs can take him. "Let's slow down and stick closer to the stream."

Furret stops her running and turns her pace into a slight jog. She prances from side to side, with one side of her body always swinging a different way from the other. Turtwig makes small, quick jumps to stick closer to the survivor. They go upstream and eventually find themselves at the waterfall that Turtwig had first crashed down.

"We're getting closer to the Weather Institute," he remarks.

They once again slow their pace to a walk and continue moving for a long, silent period of time. Turtwig notices the reflections of the sun in the water, the fish popping out of and back into the water, the backward breeze that seems to coax them foreword, closer to Fortree. Turtwig enjoys the few minutes of peace. It's not every day that he gets to embrace the surviving aspects of nature.

"Don't turn your head left," Furret says with closed eyes.

Curious, of course, Turtwig glances toward where she prohibited. Smashed onto a tree is a big blob of some Pokémon, with a beautiful butterfly wing twitching occasionally. The black and yellow wings sport small splotches of red and blue, but now it's crumpled and barely moving. The Pokémon was literally squashed against a tree. Turtwig gulps and moves on.

Further ahead Turtwig finds a light brown bag that he could probably fit inside of. Furret smells it and quickly backs away. Turtwig, puzzled, tries to peek inside, though it's very dark.

"It smells like death," she whispers.

"So does the rest of the world," Turtwig counters.

"Suit yourself," she shrugs.

Turtwig peers into the bag and immediately sees a long, orange-red tail that slips out from the bag's contents. The tail's end is scorched and black, almost as if the Pokémon had a flame burning there. Turtwig pushes the bag into some nearby bushes in a way of paying his own respects. As the bag goes round and round, he can hear squishy sounds as the contents are rubbed against the ground. Turtwig, disturbed from what he just witnessed, immediately vomited right beside the brown bag. The vomit was a yellow-white color, both resembling the shade and shape of the pancakes he had eaten the morning before. Turtwig closes his eyes and walks on along the stream.

. . .

The grayish-brown rabbit hops from bush to bush in search of the final berries needed for the return trip home. He still has the several dozen Pokéballs within his mouth, but he's used to carrying so much food in there anyway. After finding an Oran Berry, Bunnelby puts it inside the bag that was found earlier.

"I'm ready to go home," Chespin announces to absolutely no one at all. Frowning, he notices that he's being ignored. "Hello?"

"Mmmfmmfmmm!" Bunnelby replies.

"I guess I am ready, too," Scyther, defeated, says with a sigh.

"Don't forgot about us!" Snivy casually says as she walks out from the western direction.

She, Wingull, and Ekans had found plenty of food to last the town at least another week. However, they still haven't found Furret. Even worse…

"Wasn't there another one on your team?" Scyther raises a nonexistent eyebrow.

Snivy's normal appearance immediately turned to disappointment. "We lost him in the river. Don't know what happened to him."

Scyther, shocked, smacks his face with his scythe. "So you let the newbie float off to his death while you get _berries_? What a mistake!"

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't know what to do," she cries out.

"Don't blame her, it was my fault," a voice emanates from within the bushes.

"Who said that?" Shuppet asks, but everyone else thinks it's obvious.

"I fell in on my own footing," Turtwig says as he emerges from the foliage. "While I did fail at making the thin bridge thing, I at least found this," he gestures toward his right.

Furret hops out of hiding and among the crowd of survivors. Everyone gapes, mouths wide open, and look from Turtwig to Furret.

"You're telling me that you found Furret even after the risk of drowning in the river?" Scyther gasps. "Wait…after all that training, you fell in the river right after breaking apart from my group?! I thought I taught you better!"

Snivy eyes him angrily and he steps back a little.

"Alright, I understand it's harder for quadrupeds. I am impressed, though, that you managed to find this survivor and bring her back. Congratulations, Turtwig," Scyther says.

"Thank you, sir. I saved myself from the river and guided Furret right back here," Turtwig tells the story in haste.

"Don't be so modest. You nursed me back to health even after hurting my head. Not only that, but you protected me on the way back, too. You even looked around for more survivors," Furret smiles admiringly.

"Well, I…" Turtwig blushes.

"Well then that's definitely a wrap for our first expedition. What do you think, Snivy?" Scyther asks.

"I'm ready to go sleep in a bed," she admits with a short laugh.

"We'll talk about our 'no Pokémon left behind' policy later, Snivy," Scyther says in a deeper, more authoritative voice.

"Mmmffmmfmm!" Bunnelby spits through a mouthful of Pokéballs. He hops on his way home, which is probably what he was trying to tell the others.

"I agree with the stuffed rabbit," Shuppet cheers, and the others laugh.

"Let's go eat pancakes!" Wingull squawks from above.

Turtwig suddenly feels his stomach go cold. "Let's not," he whispers.

The group, reunited and successful in its mission, finally heads on home to Fortree City.

. . .

"Congratulations to all who participated in the expedition! It was a total success in every possible way!" Scyther announces happily to the crowd of both civilians and trainees. He then loses his grin. "Back to normal duties, now," he says plainly.

After the background clapping and hooting finally ends, the townspeople begin to clear out of the area. The western wall is to Turtwig's front, like always. He notices that there are still some people talking about, such as Shuppet explaining his adventure or Bunnelby telling the tale of his mouth storage. Skitty and Trapinch were not in the crowd, however, as Skitty is treating Furret back in the Pokémon Center and Trapinch is on guard. Squirtle at least embraced him, though he can't wait to go meet up with Skitty.

"Not so fast," Snivy interjects and slides right in front of Turtwig. She looks him up and down steadily with an expressionless face. "You got lucky this time, Turtwig," she tells him.

"I'm sorry I fell off the bridge," Turtwig apologizes and immediately begins walking closer to the Pokémon Center.

Snivy extends and arm and grabs his shell. He looks back to see a small grin on her face—one of the very brief moments of optimism in her wise eyes.

"You still did well. Without your clumsiness, Furret wouldn't have made it much longer. Remember that," she says with a hint of admiration, but she then turns back around and heads back toward her tree house.

"Looks like I'm getting to her," Turtwig grins to himself and then begins to trot into the Pokémon Center to greet his kitten friend.

. . .

"I've always wanted to be a model, but the Pokérus outbreak kind of ruined that for me," Ralts explains to Trapinch, who is now both her best friend and therapist. "My life is just so pointless. I look at trees all day to just wait for my death."

Trapinch frowns. He glances down at the granite finish of the stone wall. It's a perfectly flat top, so the pavement is easy to perch on and wait. Trapinch finds comfort in the protectiveness of this wall, but no physical object can protect his shattering dreams as well.

"Life isn't over yet—you aren't going to die as long as you're with the group," Trapinch says comfortingly. "I've always wanted to fly past the clouds, but I'm just a small ant-like creature with a speed stat slower than a regular Snorlax. Life goes on, and our dreams have to adapt to the conditions we thrive upon. After all, you could be a model for the town!"

Ralts smiles, though her green hair covers most of her face. She still seems unsure if what Trapinch said is even true, but at least he is trying to comfort her. She and Trapinch look beyond the wall at the treetops. The luscious greens and browns that extend among the sea of leaves is breathtaking; however, it's almost terrifying to know that right under those large, brown-trunked umbrellas could be the end of Fortree City. Danger lurks within every corner, every crack in the wall, every molecule of hair inhaled by every single citizen.

"What would happen if someone contracted the natural strain of the virus?" Ralts suddenly asks out loud.

"I—I don't know. Can we even still get the regular virus?"

"I don't want to find out now that I think about it. We could mutate along with the strain," she says, her thought process becoming clearer.

"Or not," Trapinch teases.

The two of them talk both logically and personally for the rest of the day, the rest of the night, and beyond their bedtimes. It's nice not being alone.

. . .

"Okay, Furret, I need you to keep your arm really still," Skitty soothingly whispers as she begins to wrap a bandage around Furret's wrist.

The long-bodied Pokémon cringes as something makes contact to the wounded area. She asks why she didn't feel the cut before, and even more about why she is feeling it now. Skitty finishes wrapping up the wound and looks up at Furret.

"With your life on the line, the adrenaline in your body was pumping overtime. You didn't even know that you were hurt so badly. You probably didn't even feel the ground beneath your feet!" Skitty explains calmly.

"You know, now that you mention it…I don't remember feeling anything at all. I was focusing on my running, on my thoughts of what to do next."

"Survival brings out the hidden strengths in both people and Pokémon. Though humanity has gone extinct, we are able to use abilities and moves we never even knew we could use," she says, enraptured by her own words.

"Thank you for everything," Furret smiles.

"No problem. You might want to stay here overnight since this is a pretty bad scrape," Skitty suggests, and Furret nods slightly.

They continue talking for hours until they both eventually fall asleep. Once Turtwig comes in, Chansey puts Skitty on his back so that he can take her home. The Kitten Pokémon, after a long day of healing, is finally ready for bed. Turtwig lays her on her bed and tiptoes over several sleeping bodies to his sleeping area. Eventually, Trapinch walks in and slumps over onto his heap of sand in a box.

Turtwig cannot sleep, however. He looks outside as the bright moon overlooks Fortree in a caring, protective manner. Turtwig acknowledges the stars that sparkle in the sky. How does he fit in this world? Although he has succeeded in his efforts today, tomorrow lies another adventure filled with life-threatening danger. Can life really just end like that?

The rickety floorboards squeak as Turtwig tosses and turns underneath the covers. This bed is not comfortable. This isn't the bed that he slept in when he was with his trainer. This isn't the atmosphere he felt when battling alongside her. Just like the inability to sleep, Turtwig feels like this world isn't comfortable.

"I just want my life back," he weeps silently into his pillow, which is flat and pathetic. "I just want it back."


	10. Chapter 9: Duty Calls

_Chapter 9: Duty Calls_

Turtwig, hazy, stands amongst the others in a line against the western wall. Trapinch and Skitty are doing their jobs, but the trainees have their own list of duties for the day. Scyther mentioned this last night, where a party was thrown in the last expedition's success. Now, though, there is no entertainment. With heavy eyelids, Turtwig forces himself to stay awake as he silently waits along with the rest of his friends.

Breakfast was short. Scyther allowed everyone to eat a couple berries and take a couple gulps of water. He then demanded anyone not a trainee to go to work. Turtwig can still remember the determined look in his eyes. It's almost like today is a special day…but it's not.

"Chores," Scyther began, "are the most important tasks any member of my Expedition Team could accomplish."

A few Pokémon glance at each other anxiously, especially Wurmple, who recently discovered that the Flying-types of Fortree are wanting to eat something other than berries. Working alongside them at a time like this is dangerous.

"I'm going to read off my list of duties for the day and then choose a few of you to work together so the chore will be accomplished. Now, do not think this is 'taking out the trash' work. You are expected to patrol, to garden, to teach, to learn, and to aid in any position I place you. You are not going to just do the dishes and go back to doing whatever."

An intimidating breeze steals away any sense of pride from the crowd; some go from working to save the city from peril to now saving it from weeds or uneducated Pokémon. Turtwig forms a slight frown as he realizes today will be as boring as ever.

"No complaining!"

The two words cause nearly every trainee to stiffen, though Shuppet is holding back a smile from the tone of Scyther's authoritative voice. Scyther then proceeds to say that trainees should be able to help the town in its power and its cultivation. Turtwig begins to tune out the rest of his speech because it's the same sentence he just spoke, though in different sentence structures.

Scyther looks at his paper and carefully fumbles it over between his two scythes. "Now, the list: Bunnelby, Fennekin, you two are going to start it all off with wall patrol. Offer assistance as needed."

Fennekin can be heard grunting about looking at trees all day, but Bunnelby continues to stand at attention without any movement whatsoever. The two of them don't glance at each other, either, since Fennekin normally does not wish to make many friends.

"Wingull and Squirtle, you guys are working the hospital," Scyther says in a similar pattern as before.

Squirtle whispers in excitement about healing others, though Wingull seems hesitant to show any emotion. The seagull has a reputation with his father, so any wrong move could worsen it—and any right one could cause expectations to rise. Squirtle was not born with such a reputable status.

"Fletchinder and Tropius will do air patrol, while Marill and Shuppet are to visit the Pokémon school. Turtwig, Wurmple, you two can work in the garden with our Harvester, Phantump. He is quiet, so don't scare him off."

After barely-existent groans and scuffling of feet, everyone was off to do whatever assigned chore required. Turtwig is at least happy he isn't patrolling the wall because he has a lot of pressure on himself already. Plus, the school is hard to escape from, so Turtwig is somewhat happy with his ultimate position. Phantump, though, is a fairly new name to him. Turtwig has only heard the name a total of two times, and one was last night at the party. He does know that Phantump has a close relative named Pumpkaboo, and the two alternate in the garden. He and Wurmple proceed to make their way to the opposite side of town.

. . .

"I hate rocks," Fennekin pouts as it joins Bunnelby at the stone wall.

"Well Trapinch told us that we could pack these rocks together in this weaker area of the wall," Bunnelby says.

"But why do we have to do it?"

"As trainees, we have to do the grunt work."

Bunnelby then wanders over to a large pile of rocks not too far away from the hollowed-out section of the wall. He lifts a stone up with his strong ears and carries it over to the desired location. The wall is very sturdy in all other areas; the thick, strong barrier of pure rock is comforting for the civilians of Fortree City. There are mixed splotches of dark and light gray define the blunt compactness of the whole barrier.

Fennekin calmly steps over to one rock and uses Psybeam to bring it to the wall. However, the beam _crushes_ the stone into several little pebbles, much to Fennekin's dismay. He frowns and thinks about how to carry the rock without picking it up.

"Have you tried focusing your mind around the rock's perimeter? Try imagining the action of picking the rock up. Maybe you can use Psychic to carry it over here," Bunnelby says.

The Fennec fox decides to try the idea out and begins to close his eyes. All he has to do is focus his mind on the object. He can see the round, gray rock surrounded by the dark, irrelevant background of his mind. He tries to pick it up, to move it from one location to the next—point A to point B. Fennekin, a dull, lifeless body, is standing still with no movement in the picture.

Bunnelby watches this intense thought process and notices a purple light surrounding the rock's perimeter. It begins to wobble, to shakily move from the rest position. Excited, he watches the fox begin to understand the power of Psychic from square one.

"Well?" a voice asks from somewhere outside of his mind. An orange-colored ant walks over to the wall and sees that the hole is still intact. "How's the fixing?"

Fennekin opens his eyes and drops the rock back onto the ground. He frowns due to his hard work coming to no avail. He has failed the art of Psychic-types. Even though he won't be one for a long time, learning the move would give him an extra edge.

"Fennekin is trying to learn how to use Psychic," Bunnelby explains.

"Well how about you guys work a little bit more and then take a break?"

"Will do," Bunnelby smiles.

Trapinch hobbles back over to the Ralts station so he can be transported. Fennekin lowers its head in defeat.

"Hey, I can do all this in a few minutes flat," Bunnelby says.

While Fennekin sits in the grass, Bunnelby uses Mud Shot to cover the sideways crater with an inner layer of thick, liquidy ground. He then throws a rock up in the air and smacks it down hard—and right into the location, too. Bunnelby continues this while using his Huge Power. Fennekin, awestruck, watches from a distance.

"That's Smack Down. I know that move, Mud Shot, Brick Break, and Quick Attack. Don't mess with me!" Bunnelby laughs.

"I just want to be successful in _something_," Fennekin frowns. "I'm always average or worse. I'm not strong, nor popular, brave, fast, whatever! I'm just sitting here pouting about my failure."

"Sometimes the best of us is the worst."

Fennekin thinks about that statement for a moment and then asks, "well what do you want to do with your life?"

"Before the outbreak, I wanted to become a top competitive fighter. I wanted to be the best of the best, the strongest of the strong. Now, though, I'm lucky to find another Pokémon period—let alone a competitive one."

"I just want to be happy. I've only ever wanted to be happy. I ran away from my sister, Braixen, to join my trainer and make her proud of me—and now she's dead. _Dead_. I didn't even prove myself in battle much," Fennekin recounts from the past.

The two of them then go silent. Bunnelby continues packing down the wall and edging out spots for more stones while Fennekin focuses on mastering one of the most powerful Psychic-type moves.

. . .

"Why do I have to fly medication from house to house?" Wingull asks himself as he loads up a small bag courtesy of the Pokémon Center.

"We need you to send some simple medications to some of our citizens," Skitty says quietly.

"Well I don't like this busy work."

"I'm sorry. Do you want me to do it?"

Skitty opens her eyes wider and a small, clear tear can be seen coming down the corner of her eye. Wingull immediately goes berserk in an apology and ultimately decides to do as he was told.

"Thank you!" Skitty immediately beams proudly. It's almost as if that tear was…

"So what do I have to do, then?" the blue Water-type starter asks politely.

"Well, you can send in food to some of the patients while I work with a mad Frogadier," Skitty says thoughtfully. "I'm going to try and calm him down, now, so why don't you two get started? Wingull, before you go, can you help Squirtle gather some food?"

The two Pokémon go to the Storage Room nearby and begin taking food: bread, berries, cookies—you name it. As Wingull sets the rest of the food in a bucket, Squirtle gets overwhelmed as the stack begins to stagger back and forth. As the large, rainbow tower of edibility falls down, Squirtle soaks the floor with Water Gun and slips. He falls on the tiled floor with soggy bread beside his soaking wet face.

Wingull, laughing, then flips over and lands in the floor as well. They both quietly get to work and restack the food as Skitty peeks around the corner. She sighs, shakes her head, and goes back to a crying Frogadier.

. . .

_Woooosh!_

The fiery Kalos bird flies over the treetops with haste. Looking down, Fletchinder sees many kid Pokémon begging him to do stunts. Fletchinder _ was _ supposed to patrol the air, but if there is nothing to look out for…

"Fire Blast!" he whispers to himself as a star-shaped display of controlled fire erupts from Fletchinder's body.

"Oooooo!" a baby Tyrogue gapes from below, and many other Pokémon hoot and shout along with him.

The small Pokémon rejoice, but Fletchinder is not paying attention to the air zone's safety. Instead, is temporary partner Tropius is doing all the work.

"I have to make sure every roof is in perfect shape," Tropius says to himself with slight worry.

He goes from treetop to treetop, house to house, wall to wall. He occasionally blows a leaf off of a roof simply because it ruins the aesthetic quality of the craftsmanship.

"Fletchinder can have all the fun he wants," Tropius mumbles. "I'll do the real work around here."

. . .

Marill and Shuppet calmly enter the welcoming atmosphere of Ms. Miltank's classroom. Surrounding them is a vividly-colored array of papers, billboards, pictures, and school supplies. On the floor are several mats, each either green, red, or blue, in the shape of Pokéballs.

Ms. Miltank has a pointer stick and is showing the students a place on the Hoenn map. Shuppet floats into the doorway while Marill inches behind; both, uncomfortable with little children, don't want to be here. The others get to help in the hospital or on the walls…and they have to play with kids.

Shuppet clears his throat. Ms. Miltank immediately ends her speech on the habitat of wild Feebas and excuses herself from the classroom. She guides Shuppet and Marill over to the back of the classroom anxiously and asks about the matter.

"We've come to help you! We're trainees and Scyther sent us here to help with the children" Marill smiles.

"Oh! Goodie! Just shout next time," Ms. Miltank says jokingly. "I want you two to go take a seat and listen to my lecture."

"Ma'am, with all due respect, we're here to _help _you, not _learn from_," Shuppet explains.

"I understand that, and you will help me by letting me teach you. The more you know, the longer you'll live," she says to the Ghost-type.

Marill sits on a blue cushion in the back while Shuppet sits beside him on a red one. The two of them listen to the Feebas lecture some more. Apparently, Feebas are known for their rather shabby look and not for their beauty. One of the students, a little Swablu, asks about what moves it can learn.

"Well, Feebas is like a Magikarp in most senses, though it can learn TMs like Ice Beam and can get egg moves like Dragon Pulse. It evolves into the gorgeous Milotic, which is claimed to be one of the most beautiful Pokémon of the sea."

The class gasps at the idea of an ugly Pokémon turning into something beautiful. Some of the rogue kids, like Elekid and Tyrogue, giggle at the ugly sight of Feebas. Swablu, Taillow, and Litleo focus primarily on the beauty of Milotic. Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour, however, are not interested in the subject and instead begin whispering questions to Marill.

"Now, class, can anyone tell me…" Miltank begins to say.

"Why are you here?" asks Panpour, the little blue monkey jittering with curiosity.

"I'm here to help your teacher," the slimilarly blue mouse Pokémon says.

"Mirror Coat is a move that, after taking a special attack head-on, returns the power with double the damage," Shuppet says intelligently.

"This isn't _helping_! You're here to learn, aren't you?" Pansear giggles.

"Maybe Marill is here to catch up on some information?" Pansage suggests.

"Will you all just shush?! I'm helping your teacher out, I'm not a child!" Marill says loudly—loudly enough for the teacher to hear.

"Marill, if you are not a child, why don't you tell us the base power and status effect that goes along with the move Thunderbolt?" Miltank crosses her arms.

"Well, I, uh…Thunderbolt has the power of…80 and can cause the opponent to flinch?"

The whole class erupts in laughter at the older student's lack of knowledge. The elemental monkeys roll on the floor after destroying Marill's public image.

"Thunderbolt has a base power of 90 and can sometimes cause paralysis, though not as common as Discharge can," Shuppet explains.

"Very good, Shuppet! Marill…why don't you go and grade some quizzes the students took last night? It's about Water-type moves…hopefully you can get _that_," Miltank stresses as some of the kids giggle quietly. "Shuppet, why don't you tell the class about where you can find a Feebas?"

"Yes, ma'am. Feebas only appears on six random tiles in a certain…" Shuppet says, though Marill then tunes him out.

_Grade tests? More like do busywork to keep my reputation alive. This is not training; this is torture!_ Marill says in his head.

. . .

Crops everywhere. There are berries planted in every single spot that the farmland can hold. The brown, plowed land looks perfect for farming, too, so the Harvester of Fortree has his work a bit easier than Turtwig expected.

He and Wurmple finally made it to the garden and eventually met the farmer himself, Phantump, and his helper, Pumpkaboo. The two Grass-type Pokémon plant seeds and grow them quickly to meet the demand that the civilians require to feed every mouth in Fortree.

"So what can I do for you two boys, then?" Phantump asks politely.

"We were sent by Scyther to help you in any way possible," Wurmple says.

"Is that so? I'll grab the hose for you. You will water the Pecha berries. It's not hard, so don't screw it up."

Once the hose was given, the ghostly tree stump Pokémon was gone. Turtwig and Wurmple were left alone—Pumpkaboo only came outside to turn the water on for Turtwig. It is going to be a long, boring day.

There are five rows to this garden. The middle row is taken up by the Pecha berries, while the others don't really seem to matter right now. Turtwig gets the hose and gently sprinkles water on the seeds as each small lump in the dirt seems to be satisfied. The dry, almost crumbling soil immediately turns into thicker soil, almost like mud. Turtwig frowns at the weather.

"One is done," he says finally.

Turtwig moves onto the next plant. Letting the water flow out of the hose, Turtwig feels a sense of accomplishment. He's doing something right for Fortree, and it's not in combat. He's helping the children get to eat, the old control their diet, the…

All of a sudden, straight out of nowhere, Turtwig notices that something ate the first plant that he had watered. The soil was dug up and the berry seed completely gone. Figure it was just his own imagination, he keeps watering.

The hose is controlled by Turtwig's jaws, and when his head moves, so does the water. This is the easiest way for him since his stubby legs weren't made for holding many objects. He moves onto his third plant, then his fourth, and then his fifth. Turtwig is breezing through this chore, which means dinner will happen that much quicker.

"Nom," Turtwig hears a small noise from behind his back.

He turns around and calls out to stop eating the garden, though no one is there. Who could possibly be eating these plants?

. . .

The anonymous eater watches as the Tiny Leaf Pokémon does its best to please Scyther. He laughs inside because that Pokémon tries so hard to prove itself. However, he also feels a bit of encouragement from such a good attitude. In fact, he would help if it wasn't for his empty stomach.

_It would be a shame if I…ate up all the berries_, he thinks to himself.

. . .

Turtwig reverses his stance and finally sees the culprit: while he was watering each berry plant, Wurmple was eating them right after! After severe scolding and blasting of water, Turtwig finally accepts Wurmple's apology for ruining their duty.

However, Phantump is not as amused. The possessed stump hovers outside from his small shack to find his Pecha berries gone and his garden a _mess!_ The Ghost-type frowns as his hard work has been ruined. However, that sadness immediately turns into anger.

"You folks get out of my garden before I have you thrown out into the wild. Think it's funny? That's okay! Pumpkaboo, let's show these two pinheads a lesson!"

"Pinhead? No, I'm—" Wurmple begins to say.

"Now, use Seed Bomb!"

Turtwig and Wurmple exit the farm as fast as they can. Turtwig can't help but laugh the whole way as Wurmple caused their simple job to become such a complete failure.

"I'm so sorry," Wurmple gasps as he inches quickly.

"No, it was kind of funny, actually," Turtwig says.

Once the two finally arrive to the western side again, it's already dark…and everyone else is patiently waiting outside.

. . .

"Wall defense?" Scyther asks demandingly.

"Success," Fennekin nervously replies.

"Hospital?"

Wingull and Squirtle glance at each other quickly before saying that it was a failure.

"… Air patrol?"

"Success," Tropius gloats.

"School?"

Shuppet looks over to the humiliated Marill. He then calls it a "mixed success," and Scyther quickly understands Marill's failure by the look on his face.

"Gardening?"

"Failure," Turtwig mumbles quietly.

"Wait, what? You two screwed that up? That was one of the easiest jobs given out!" Scyther protests.

"We had a sort of hunger issue."

"Hunger issue, huh? That's fine. Everyone who succeeded, you all get to eat a nice meal tonight. Those that failed…well, you all can eat a berry and go to bed. I don't have time for slackers, and I certainly don't want to waste food on them," Scyther says menacingly.

"Yes sir," they all say respectfully in a single, quick sentence.

"This is not a big punishment. This is motivation."

. . .

Turtwig, who is now lying in bed and shifting back and forth on his bed, can hear his stomach screeching at him with disapproval. He pounds it with his front leg, but it doesn't stop making the gurgling noise.

"More like deprivation," he mutters quietly.

Nearby, Wurmple is curled up in a ball sulking. Turtwig is mad at him right now, or at least his stomach is, so there are no comforting words from him. He is slightly agitated now. However, when Wurmple glances over at him pathetically, Turtwig loosens his tight, angry expression into a slight smile.

_At least Squirtle and some of the others didn't get to eat well_, he reminds himself.

The door to the tree house cabin cracks open as Skitty and Trapinch walk in earlier than usual. Trapinch is carefully holding cups of water in his mouth while Skitty keeps a plate of food on the tip of her tail.

"Turtwig, Squirtle, Wingull, Wurmple, Marill, we couldn't leave you out from dinner. The two of us saved a portion of our meals to at least satisfy your stomachs," Skitty politely says while offering handfuls of food to Turtwig's group of failures.

"Thank you, Skitty," Turtwig smiles meaningfully.

Those who did fail at least get a decent meal. They each quietly nibbled at their food and quickly flopped back in place to sleep. The others came in with annoying sounds and loud jokes being thrown around the room.

It was a long night for Turtwig. After saving Furret, who still resides in the hospital as far as he knows, it's as if he's nothing again. He merely fails at gardening in his own town. How is he going to survive the savages if he can't even garden?


	11. Chapter 10: Shiver

_Chapter 10: Shiver_

Blinding. Turtwig's left eye blasts open from its slumber as it becomes blinded by the first rays of sunlight peeking over the trees. Almost simultaneously, his other eye opens in response and eventually his mind creeps away from the dreams of his past. Turtwig rubs his face with his nubby front legs and glances out the window to see the welcoming sun enter his view. Turtwig sees a small figure alongside the western wall. Its silhouette is antlike, so it is obvious that Trapinch is on his morning shift. Likewise, Skitty has gone off to open things up at the Pokémon Center, however all the trainees are simply sleeping in. They all still have another hour before they must get up, so absorbing as much sleep as possible is a good idea. Turtwig, though, is wide awake and cannot even lie around lazily. As such, he decides to accompany Trapinch for at least the hour he has available.

After cleaning up both his bed and his shell, the Tiny Leaf Pokémon tiptoes out the trainee cabin and manages to dangerously slide down the roped side of the swinging ladder. He walks over to Ralts' stand, but she is not up yet, so he has to use the wooden elevator to bring him up to the top of the wall.

Turtwig steps onto the square of wood and plants himself directly in the middle. He then proceeds to crank the mechanism attached so that the platform will slowly raise. As he continues, Turtwig sees the Flying-types beginning to venture off from their nests of the trees above. With the sun completely out, some nocturnal Pokémon, such as Noctowl, quickly proceed back in dark areas, which, in his case, is the Pokémart.

Eventually the crank screeches as Turtwig's platform reaches its peak position. He hops off and watches it slowly scoot back down the wall and onto the grassy earth. He turns back around and sees his friend staring off in the distance. Turtwig smiles and asks his friend how he's doing.

"O…oh," Trapinch manages to whisper.

The Ant Pit Pokémon is almost completely pale; the orange coloring of his head and body has almost drained from him as if life was being sucked straight out of him.

"What's wrong? I can help," Turtwig says kindly, but all Trapinch replies with is a long, cold shiver that vibrates his whole body and causes him to twitch all around.

"Trapinch, what's going on?" Turtwig asks demandingly, but Trapinch only nods his head straight, signaling Turtwig to turn around.

The Grass-type does so. He whips his head around and then feels hydrochloric acid rise up his esophagus and pushes ferociously at his clenched teeth. He can feel the burning sensation from within, the feeling that could best be described as true horror.

"May Arceus help us all," he whispers with a tear rolling down the left side of his face, brushing past his slit-nose, down across his jaw-line, and finally dropping down the wall and into the grass beyond.

A giant blue bear, about 200 feet in height, is off in the distance munching on a tree trunk. The savage, a filthy mess, has trees, cars, and blood smeared all in its shaggy fur. Two pointy teeth protrude from the creature's mouth, either bloodstained and sharp as a Gallade's wrist-blade. Though its back is turned, even the slightest of noises could grab its attention. It seems to be primarily focused on eating, but anything could happen.

"A…savage…Munchlax," Turtwig says in a shocked tone. "We could be in _big _trouble now."

From somewhere within Fortree City's walls, a bird Pokémon chirps loudly enough for the savage's ears to perk up in attention. It then sniffs the air with the large, mucus-covered nostrils that are covered by only a thin layer of fur.

"Don't move," Trapinch mutters.

It doesn't matter. Before they know it, giant thumps like mini earthquakes come closer and closer to the western wall. The giant bear Pokémon skips along and begins to drip saliva from the corners of its mouth.

"Scyther! Skarmory! Someone! A savage is attacking!" Turtwig screams to the top of his lungs.

Instead of Skarmory answering the call, the first Pokémon to report in is Altaria. The cloud-winged Pokémon screeches loudly with a Hyper Voice to daze the Big Eater Pokémon, though it merely snaps out of the effects and ignores the attack. Altaria is then whacked from the sky and onto the ground by a powerful chop coming from the less-than-intelligent monster.

"Why didn't he eat Altaria when he had the chance?" Trapinch asks.

"I don't know," Turtwig says admittedly.

"We're coming!" replies the late Scyther and his Expedition Team. None of the trainees are present, but most of the official squad members are present.

Scyther hops upon the top of the wall from the ground and leaps again to confront Munchlax head-on. He slashes at the air as the savage Munchlax watches blankly. The other members wait anxiously on the wall top with Turtwig to wait for their orders.

While this happens, though, Ralts beams in and screams loudly. Her feelers vibrate uncontrollably, but she insists on using Protect anyway to keep the western wall up. Ralts stands on the top of the stone structure and it becomes enveloped in a green protective barrier.

Turtwig begs Trapinch to get the other trainees up, too, but when Trapinch goes to the elevator, the ground shakes and he ends up falling off the side of the wall. He lands in the bushes on the outside of the city, though, so he will be okay as long as he is concealed.

"Stay put, I'm coming!" Turtwig says.

"Backup! Backup!" Scyther gasps as Munchlax swipes at him in return.

The savage then uses a glowing finger to randomly spit out a massive air gust—which, appropriately, is the move Gust—to distract Scyther. The monster then stupidly starts clapping at the Bug-type as if it resembled a pesky fly.

Snivy and Chespin jump onto the ground and leap forward, using their Vine Whip attacks to slash at Munchlax's belly. However, they merely bounce off with no reaction or damage whatsoever. Bewildered, both Pokémon tense up quietly as Munchlax then walks on closer to Fortree City.

"Get out of the way!" Snivy screams as she wraps one vine around Chespin and the other around the trunk of a tree, which she uses to sling both of them out of the savage's walking space. They land hard on the trunk and pant loudly.

"Take thisss!" Ekans hisses as he flings gunk at the target, though the Gunk Shot is reflected onto Lairon. Though the attack hit a teammate, at least Lairon is immune to Poison.

Ekans is then kicked in the process of Munchlax's motion and the snake only saves his own life by using Dig mid-fall and creating a hole in the ground right as he landed. He otherwise would have died from the impact.

Lairon, meanwhile, is somewhat dazed and pitifully falls on its side. Houndour uses Flamethrower, though the attack does not even singe the fur. Chikorita's Magical Leaf only clipped a fingernail at best.

Turtwig watches, horrified, as the Pokémon is less than two hundred feet from the town. He sees Scyther lunge at the former Pokémon's feet with great force, but he misses the target and crashes into a tree.

"Darn it!" Scyther musters as he tries to pull his scythes out of the tree's trunk, though he now renders them useless as his strength alone does not free them.

The two hundred foot distance has now shortened to a little over one hundred feet by Turtwig's judgment. Combusken's Double Kick cannot penetrate the thick fur that Munchlax possesses, much less his Thick Fat. Skiddo, meanwhile, tends to Chespin's hurt leg while Linoone tries to free Scyther. Snivy begins charging back toward Munchlax, though she cannot catch up to it—even with tree propulsion from her Vine Whip. Ralts lets go of her Protect for a while so she can charge back up; with the length of time she kept it up, her power was drained.

Munchlax is now walking toward the gate. He touches it with his gigantic hand but then stops for a brief moment. As the giant bear stands near the edge of a sleeping civilization, everyone else stares quietly. Suddenly, Munchlax clenches his right fist. It begins to glow white with a mystical power. Ralts, still standing on top of the wall and now almost looking Munchlax eye-to-eye, uses Protect again for the incoming attack.

"That's Focus Punch," Turtwig says to himself quietly. "Protect can block those kinds of moves."

How wrong he actually is. Munchlax shoves its fist right in the middle of the barrier and shatters it completely. Then, once getting rid of one problem, he grabs Ralts in his meaty hands and squeezes tightly. Ralts screams that she can't teleport and that she's going to die. Turtwig, on the wall, screams in return. Snivy stops in her tracks and looks at the scene. Scyther, still stuck to the tree, views the horrific events to come.

What happens is inevitable. the savage opens its large mouth and drops Ralts right in. As Munchlax do not chew, it immediately swallows the Feeling Pokémon and feels no remorse. Turtwig, Trapinch, Snivy, Scyther, and the rest of the group stare in awe as Munchlax then moves on to the next course: he glances downward and sees a weeping Trapinch in a vulnerable position.

It picks up the Pit Trap Pokémon. It lightly squeezes the Pokémon between its thumb and forefinger. The former Munchlax rolls the Pokémon between the two fingers and it contemplates eating him. Turtwig can see the look of terror in Trapinch's eyes: the glazed top layer and then under it a bright, scary, penetrating stare into death.

No one moves. Munchlax turns its back on Turtwig and lifts Trapinch up to drop him in its disgusting mouth. Screams can finally be heard from within Fortree City. Skarmory is nowhere to be seen. Swellow and Pelipper circle above from the sky. No one is even trying to save Trapinch.

No, someone is. Turtwig is. In an almost-unreal moment, Turtwig launches his body off the wall's top and unleashes one massive Razor Leaf at the savage. Turtwig screams and trots toward the beast, caring neither for himself nor anything around him but his friend. However, that Razor Leaf hit the perfect spot: the nape of its neck.

The giant, sharp boomerang slashes Munchlax's neck—it must be an Achilles heel of sorts. Munchlax drops Trapinch hard onto the ground and slams onto the western wall as it bleeds from the neck. Soon after, a huge puff of smoke emits from the savage and any trace of blood and skin were gone—they disintegrated. However, the large skeleton is still intact…and still leaning on the western wall.

Something from inside the ribcage falls to the ground: Ralts. She slings her head up and squeals in delight. Apparently the stomach acids did not have time to ingest her. However, no one else moves a muscle.

Turtwig, adrenaline done pumping, falls to the ground in pain from his devastating fall and massive energy release. He blinks once, his vision turns red. Twice, his eyes begin to burn excruciatingly. Third, he's out cold.

Trapinch, whose condition is merely bruised, runs over to Turtwig. Similarly, Ralts and the very late trainees go to his aid a few minutes after. The squad members, shocked, stay in their places, with the exception of Snivy, who rushes to Turtwig.

. . .

"He's going to be okay," Chansey says happily to Trapinch, Ralts, Snivy, Scyther, and others in the waiting room. "He needs a lot of rest. He's lucky he didn't get killed from that thing."

"Okay." When Trapinch heard that word, he exhaled audibly.

Not only was Trapinch worried, but Skitty demanded to treat him as soon as the Grass-type turtle arrived at the hospital. She was just as delighted to hear the news as he was. Now, though, she's tending to his wounds from the fall back in his hospital room.

"Okay, guys, our next goal while he is resting will be to get rid of that skeleton," Scyther orders.

. . .

For the next two days, these trainees and squad members remove bones and remains from the wall and eventually get it cleared. Not many speak of the events that took place on this day, but Turtwig is at least a local hero. Fortree City survived a savage attack thanks to the clumsy trainee with a lot of determination. Even though today may be safe, there is no telling what may be in store for Turtwig tomorrow.

. . .

The green bird looks deeply into the sun without blinking. He absorbs the words that the sun's rays describe, the very descriptions of what is yet to come. It extends its black- and red-tipped wings as far apart as he can. Suddenly, a small cloud covers up the sunlight and the Pokémon opens his wise old eyes.

"It is coming," he says mysteriously. "It is coming too soon."


	12. Chapter 10 Extra: Side Story 2

_Discrimination_

_At the start of the Pokérus outbreak_

"We have to hurry, honey," a humanlike green/white-bodied Pokémon says to his wife. The Pokémon has a proud stance; his head has a curved crest in the back. He is white from the waist down, though a deep green penetrates the upper half of his appearance. Red horns stick out of his chest and back as if they were a sort of defensive mechanism. At his green elbows, blades protrude from his elbows and create the impression of swords for arms.

"It hasn't hatched yet," remarks the more feminine counterpart. She is similar in appearance, though the white bottom resembles more of a dress. Her head sleeks back and creates a circular shape as if it was styled in such a way. She seemed to have aged from worry of her unborn child; her husband is determined to find the perfect child.

"It moves every now and then. We just have to wait a little longer," Gallade says.

From behind, a giant Munchlax, one whose size is similar to that of ten Munchlax standing one on top of the other, stomps a foot in their direction. The Pokémon, oversized drops of saliva spilling over its bottom lip, searches hungrily for something to satisfy its overgrown stomach. It knocks over trees and steps in rivers, resulting in a rapid collapse of the environment. Gallade is forced to use Slash on an incoming tree, completely uprooted. The trunk is split in two and falls on opposite sides of the family. Gardevoir clenches the cold egg tight at her chest.

"We need to get this last egg out of here," Gardevoir whispers, "or else it isn't going to make it past the night, let alone the full duration."

The couple runs and eventually finds shelter in a large bush farther away from the creature. The egg, now warm due to the mother's nurturing, begins to wiggle in closer intervals than before. The two hold each other together and watch one of the many miracles of life. Soon enough, the egg begins to glow white and pieces are thrown onto the ground.

The baby Pokémon crawls out of its egg and looks around. It has a soft body of white and a head covered in green hair. It, too, has the red horns of its parents, though they are now located atop its head.

Gallade and Gardevoir look hard at the Pokémon to find out a gender. Gardevoir, realizing it is a female, squeals in delight while Gallade scratches the back of his head in disappointment.

"I wanted a boy," he says, frowning.

"Life has decided that we raise a girl. Can you not appreciate what we have?"

"You are treating life as if it is a deity. If _Arceus_ wants us to raise a girl in this land of evil, then that disproves the idea of a perfect "God." Do you not understand that you are worshiping nothing?" the husband says in a scowl.

Gardevoir cups her mouth and closes her eyes in a small prayer. "Dear Arceus, have mercy on this new family, this little baby girl and her new parents. Thank you," she whispers.

Almost as if in response, the giant bush that served as camouflage is pulled from the ground. Small leaves fly off of it as the foliage is thrown miles away from its original location. Gallade and Gardevoir, previously crouching down, stand up in astonishment as they look eye-to-eye with the giant creature that had almost killed them before.

"Where is Arceus _now?_" Gallade whispers both in disbelief and in disappointment, almost as if he wished there had been a deity to come to their rescue.

"This all has a purpose. We just have to find ours," Gardevoir says in a quick, almost screaming tone.

The two of them run, Ralts in Gardevoir's arms, as far as they can from the giant. They cross a bridge that extends over a small island among a medium-sized blue lake. Gardevoir trips and drops her only child down ironically onto the hard rock below, the only piece of land under the bridge. She screams as the baby falls and thumps onto the rock.

As Gallade and Gardevoir struggle to reach the baby from above it, the giant catches up to their quickness and stops right in front of them. Gallade swipes at the rope bridge's bindings and they run across as it falls into the water. The baby Ralts still watches from below, though it is safe from harm.

Gallade pushes Gardevoir into the brush and begins slashing at the creature. He eventually swipes a chunk of hair off of its hand, though it grabs the father and lifts it up to eye level. Gardevoir screams from below as the imminent event begins: Munchlax devours her male counterpart, her child's father, her own husband. Gallade is first squeezed until the bones in his arms are broken. Once he is unable to fight back, he is shoved into the seemingly stupid creature's mouth.

Gardevoir hears it crunch after each opening of the jaw. She screams out for Arceus to save her, though only the Munchlax can somewhat interpret her pleas. Instead of running further west into Fortree City, she decides to go north into the trees to try and lose the creature. She will have to visit her daughter later.

. . .

Once the bridge had collapsed, a wave of water began to form. Sure enough, the wave crashed onto the small piece of stone land and washed Ralts away into the stream. She choked and struggled in the water since she was barely a couple of hours old. However, she never went completely underwater. The poor, defenseless Pokémon had used her Psychic energy to save her lungs as a result of an immediate reflex. The baby Ralts washes ashore not too far away and sleeps. As she closes her eyes, shadows and movement begin to flood into her vision and solidify in her brain.

. . .

"What do you think about our catch today?" one man asks his boss, the driver of the small truck.

"One little Ralts is pathetic. Do we have anyone in the area who would even pay for one?" questions a voice from in front of the first man.

"Actually, a child in Fortree City is in need of a Ralts and his father is too busy to catch one himself."

"Meh," the boss replies.

"He's rich—the CEO of something," the grunt says.

He can hear his boss shift in the seat in front of him. "This might be interesting, then. Let's go," the guy decides.

Behind both men, specifically in the bed of the truck, a small cage holds the future guardian of Fortree City.

. . .

The truck drives back toward where the Munchlax had rampaged a few days earlier. The two men hop out and see two unidentified Pokémon bodies with red smeared all on the ground. They both glance and each other and hop back in the truck. However, they soon realize the bridge is gone—it's in the lake. They stop to think of what to do when something from behind them comes up startlingly.

A giant Rock-type Pokémon with a large, almost maroon nose, commonly known as a Nosepass, stands before them. The creature looks at the goons stupidly as they run to get back in their truck. The truck, its trunk facing the body of the creature, is turned around in haste and begins to drive far away from the monster. However, a giant boulder now blocks the way out. They turn left, but another one is planted in their way. To their right is a dead end.

"These creatures may not be as dumb as they appear," the boss gasps.

"I still think they are," the grunt replies.

"This is no land for poachers like us, boy," says the man.

The Nosepass attacks the truck and tears the back right off, slinging it across the lake and onto the other side of Route 120. However, the front of the truck, which is comprised of the engine and the inside of the body, which includes the seats and both of the men, is still in danger. A few minutes later and the men were screaming for their lives, though fate has already taken them.

. . .

"_This all has a purpose. We just need to find ours."_

The offspring of Gardevoir and Gallade had plopped right at the new gates of Fortree City. Winona, the leader of the town, which still has a population of 12, takes in the baby Ralts and begins to nurture it back to health. Once it has seemed to recovered, she puts it in the bed of her tree house and shuts the door.

"Winona, we should all go on a small walk and scavenge for food or water," one of the men suggests.

"I'll leave my Skarmory in charge, then," she says happily.

Though Ralts is now in the care of Fortree City, she has entered right at the exit of any humanity left in the city. Over her few months in the city, she quickly grew up and learned how to patrol the walls with Altaria, Swellow, and Pelipper. Her teleportation became appreciated and she was eventually put as one of the castle wall heads. Ralts not only became an important part of Fortree society, but she also made it clear that anything is possible—and everything has its purpose, even if it is to end a life in order to bring in the future of another's.


	13. Chapter 11: Transition

_Chapter 11: Transition_

"Okay." Turtwig was familiar with the word, especially since he uses it on a regular basis. The simple response can mean a variety of things—how a first day of school might have gone, how a first date went, or even just a small confirmation or answer.

"Okay" was not the best word in this situation. Sure, Turtwig was medically stable. He was physically stable. However, there is another important aspect in which Turtwig is _not _just okay: mentally, he has changed. That night has scarred his conception of the world—of a cure—after murdering an infected Pokémon. That Munchlax did not understand what it was doing, nor did it realize it was infected. It was just a natural instinct to eat. Turtwig has tried to change that instinct to better suit his _own_ life. Nature, however, does not view this as "okay" at any level. Turtwig, therefore, realizes what he has ruined: he no longer can revert to the ignorant, albeit kind Pokémon he was just a day or two ago. He will never just be "okay." Not in this lifetime.

Turtwig has been conscious a long time (though no one at the hospital knew it—not even Skitty!), but he keeps his eyes closed. He needs to process the past 24 hours. While the nurses frantically deal with other patients, Turtwig hides his vision from the faces of those he has surprised—the faces that are now soiled with the witnessing of a murder.

. . .

"He's going to be okay," Scyther announces later on in the morning.

While the trainees and squad members celebrate, Scyther then shifts uncomfortably on the ground. He then announces that while Turtwig rests, he wants the other trainees to practice battle each other and determine the two winners for the evening. This exercise will, according to him, bring both coordination and attention back on protection and not on worry. Many of the trainees do not agree with this idea, but they continue it on anyway.

"The two winners, along with Turtwig, will be given lessons by the squad for their hard work—the three will officially be amongst the highest-ranked trainees. You have an hour or two to prepare, so use your time wisely. I am going to go eat something because I'm hungry. You shouldn't raid the food, though, because you're going to be battling all day," Scyther says with a cunning grin.

. . .

Turtwig must have fallen back asleep because as he involuntarily opens his eyelids upon awakening, he sees Skitty, Trapinch, Shuppet, and Squirtle around the perimeter of his hospital bed. Turtwig yawns and rubs his right eye with a stubby yellow-tipped leg. They all cheer once he seems to have recovered.

"How was the rest?" Shuppet asks politely.

"Much-needed," Turtwig says.

"Do you remember all of what happened yesterday?" Skitty questions, though Turtwig nods slightly and slams his head back on the bed.

"What's wrong?" Squirtle frowns.

"I murdered an innocent Pokémon."

The four look at each other anxiously and scuffle about the floor a few seconds until Trapinch counters the statement with one of sympathy and encouragement:

"You saved our lives—you took one to save dozens. I wouldn't call it a total loss," he says.

"Tell that to Munchlax's dead trainer. I wonder why we don't see more savages than just those few around here," Turtwig changes the subject.

"Probably because up north there isn't a high population," Skitty suggests. "If you're fully recovered, then maybe you should go and get a nice, appetizing meal down at the Pokémon Gym. We store some food there for times like this."

"Excuse me?" Ralts peeks in from the corner of the hallway. "I need Trapinch to come for wall duty."

Trapinch hugs Turtwig tightly and then trots away behind Ralts. Skitty likewise gets called back to look at Frogadier's pounding headache. However, Ralts comes back in the room to thank Turtwig once again for saving her life.

"I owe you one," she smiles.

"No, you really don't. Stop being so nice."

"Turtwig?" Squirtle calls out from behind Turtwig's turned head.

"What?"

"Shuppet and I have a competition to attend. You see, the trainees—well, all but you—are going to be battling it out for some lessons. You automatically get them for your work yesterday, so you go and catch up on some eating. Shuppet and I have to go battle real soon."

Right as Squirtle and Shuppet exit the hospital room, Snivy steps in and knocks on the door. She waits for a second and notices that Turtwig has started to drift off to sleep. She begins to walk out until she hears him asking who is there.

"Snivy," she replies.

"What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to thank you for saving our butts," she says nicely. "How did you know to aim at the nape of the neck?"

Turtwig stops all motion and focuses his mind on the events yesterday. The savage, it eating Ralts, it almost eating Trapinch…all those beginning events set the stage for his adrenaline-powered attack. Turtwig somehow automatically aimed for the neck and not other vulnerable locations, such as the stomach or even the head. How _did _he know?

"Must've been beginner's luck," he says as a suggestion.

"I've only seen one other person attack like that; my older sister, then a Servine, would use Leaf Blade right at the neck and easily defeat the opponent. This happened right before the outbreak got really bad, and it was very brief, too," Snivy says, but she then goes quiet.

"What happened to her?"

"I lost her…I think she perished in an ambush or something…" she trails off.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault."

After that, a long pause came about and they awkwardly began to stare down at their feet. Snivy then looks up, gets ready to say something, but puts a vine to her mouth and ponders whether to or not. Eventually, though, she decides to speak, and she looks much more serious than her sassy self.

"Losing a loved one in person is very hard—especially if that person gets _eaten_. Seeing someone that is seemingly so strong-willed in such a weak state, such an end to a life…it turns a person hard in the heart. I used to not be so strict. Actually, I used to be carefree and happy like the rest of you. Once I lost my sister, though, I gave up on seeing life's optimistic side and began to writhe in self-pity. …So thank you for saving the town in such a state," Snivy finishes and turns to leave.

"That's true squad potential," she adds as she exits the doorway, walks down the hall, and continues out of the hospital without turning back to see his face.

. . .

Scyther looks at the sun and sees that it's starting to get later in the afternoon. Once he gathers all the competing trainees, he begins to explain the rules, the awards, and the consequences. After doing the basics, Scyther decides to let the first team go up to battle.

"Fletchinder and Shuppet, I want a good, clean match to start off our tournament!"

Fletchinder immediately uses Flame Charge to boost its already fast speed to a higher level. It glides on its black-and-yellow wings and begins to dive down faster, creating a burning intensity right behind it. Fletchinder aims at Shuppet, but the Ghost-type Pokémon moves quickly and allows the attack to miss it. Shuppet, in return, focuses its energy to the horn of its body and releases an electric attack straight at Fletchinder.

The Thunderbolt bounces off the ground and strikes the Fire-type bird hard. Soon after, Fletchinder hits Shuppet back with a perfect-accuracy Aerial Ace. Shuppet falls to the ground and bounces a bit, but he gets back up and watches the Fire/Flying Pokémon recuperate. It then goes in for another Aerial Ace to finish the attack, but Shuppet dives into Fletchinder's shadow and then sneaks up behind it to attack head-on. This Shadow Sneak knocks Fletchinder to the ground with a hard _thump!_ and Shuppet unleashes a ball of dark, purple Ghost-type energy to finish the job, knocking Fletchinder out of the competition.

"Shuppet wins!" Scyther cheers. "Fennekin and Wingull, you guys are next!"

Wingull flies onto the grassy field and starts off with a Water Gun attack, rocketing a blast of water straight at the Kalos Fire-type starter. Fennekin responds with a newly-mastered Psychic—it bends the torrent of water and bounces it back to hit Wingull straight-on. This happens twice more, but Wingull then decides to use Air Slash and break the chain of repeating events.

The slash of air is retaliated by Fennekin's Psychic, but this time Wingull uses a combo and slyly hits Fennekin with a surprise Water Gun, knocking out the Pokémon and landing Wingull a spot in the next round.

"Wingull gets it! Wurmple and Bunnelby for battle three!"

Wurmple inches onto the battlefield and sees Bunnelby hopping from side to side with anticipation. Bunnelby goes first and uses a Huge Power-boosted Quick Attack to knock Wurmple on its side against the ground, but then Bunnelby easily finishes it with another Quick Attack. It runs at high speeds, high enough for a white streak to follow it, and slams into the Pokémon, erasing its chances of winning the prize.

"Bunnelby effortlessly gets this one! Squirtle and Marill, you're our last battle for the first round. Tropius will get a pass since only nine competitors are here," Scyther continues.

Marill begins the battle with a priority-boosted Aqua Jet, but Squirtle hides in his shell to take less damage. Squirtle then uses Water Gun to attack Marill back, but, like with Aqua Jet, the Water-STAB did very little. Marill again uses Aqua Jet, claiming that is the only attack it really has, and blasts a stream of water, while inside it, at Squirtle. Squirtle then deflects the attack with a Rapid Spin, and he aims the spin right at Marill's tail. Upon impact, Marill concedes defeat since there is not a way to win.

"Squirtle wins a very poorly-fought battle," Scyther groans. "Wingull will get a pass this round. Shuppet and Bunnelby will go first.

Shuppet realizes that in Shadow Sneak, Shadow Ball, and Thunderbolt, it could not touch Bunnelby. Bunnelby, likewise, could not use Quick Attack on Shuppet. The dilemma is very unique, but both Pokémon have tricks up their sleeves.

Bunnelby moves first and grabs a rock to smack at Shuppet, knocking it straight down onto the ground. Smack Down is a Rock-type move, so it at least does some damage toward Shuppet, though it did not appear to do enough. Shuppet retaliates with a non-attacking move. It gets several blue balls of fire around its body and allows them to rotate around in an ominous state. Soon enough, they are unleashed and end up burning Bunnelby.

"Will-o-Wisp," Shuppet says, "halves the attack of the affected Pokémon. Now try using your ability!"

Bunnelby, distraught, focuses on battle plans as it continuously suffers damage from the burn. It then gets the idea and throws gobs of Mud at Shuppet. Because Mud Shot is a special attack, it does regular damage—and the damage is enough to KO Shuppet with the STAB boost. Shuppet falls over unconscious and slowly recovers from the hard blow.

"Bunnelby will make it on to the finals!" Shuppet laughs from the battle. "Now Tropius and Squirtle can give it a shot!"

Tropius and Squirtle arrive on the desired locations of the battlefield and quickly begin. Squirtle uses Water Gun on Tropius, but the Pokémon lifts into the air and dodges it. Tropius then proceeds to collect leaves at Squirtle's feet and kick up some wind.

"You're not doing anything," Squirtle says confusedly.

Suddenly, the air picks up and creates a tornado of grass and leaves, hitting Squirtle in every direction and eventually knocking it out from previous use. Squirtle was just not prepared to face a Grass-type Pokémon, or any Pokémon resistant to it in that regard.

"Tropius will also move on! He, Bunnelby, and Wingull will battle it out in a three-way. Whichever Pokémon faints first will fail!" Scyther drags on.

The three Pokémon line up on the field. Bunnelby and Tropius give each other a slight nod, much to Wingull's suspicion. Wingull decides to charge at Tropius up close for an Air Slash, but Bunnelby uses Smack Down on Wingull and the rock hits it right in the wings, causing it to fall flat on the ground. Tropius then begins to build up stored energy from the sunlight. It will thankfully take a turn or two.

Wingull then uses Water Gun and hits Bunnelby super hard, though the Pokémon is still able to battle. Tropius gets hit with multiple Air Slashes, though Bunnelby gets behind it and Tropius then smiles once it is done charging the Solar Beam.

Wingull, of course, had no chance against the attack. Solar Beam knocked the Pokémon straight out, leaving Tropius and Bunnelby the clear winners of the tournament, and the two of them will be getting the exclusive training.

Disappointed, Wingull goes with the rest of the trainees and watches as the other two celebrate triumphantly.

. . .

Turtwig is called to the fields for special training, so he climbs out of his hospital bed and walks down the hallway. He exchanges smiles with Skitty and blushes as he exits the Pokémon Center. However, he comes face-to-face with Skarmory for possibly the first time. Skarmory is the town leader, though he seldom leaves the Pokémon Gym. He was previously the Pokémon used by Winona as well. The metal bird stands proudly among the rest of the citizens walking about.

"Thank you, Turtwig, for your service the other day," the leader tells him. "I highly appreciate your sacrifices and triumphs."

Turtwig thanks him back and quickly moves on so the situation does not get awkward. He runs across the field and meets Bunnelby and Tropius in the middle.

"Am I late?" he asks, but the two shake their heads and welcome him back.

The three of them chat a bit until a throat is cleared from behind them. Turtwig glances around and then sees the three squad members—Snivy, Ekans, and Combusken, feeling superior, have their chins up and chests out to show off their power.

"So we have officially confirmed that the monsters have one near-impossible-to-reach spot on the back of their necks…this spot is their Achilles heel, their spot of vulnerability. I am going to teach you how to use this knowledge to your advantage and, hopefully, you will live a couple more days based on how well you do," she says, chuckling toward the end.

"Now, even if you have killed a savage before," she pauses and glances at Turtwig, "you need this class because, chances are, it was luck. Therefore, I'm going to make sure you three can defend the city when needed. I'm counting on you not to screw this up. The fate of this city may just be in your hands."


	14. Chapter 12: Imperfect

_Chapter 12: Imperfect_

Turtwig flutters his eyes and sees the dewy grass sticking to his body, causing it to be wet and covered in small pieces of sediment. He stands up from the ground and inspects his full surroundings: he's in the same field as last night. He had fallen asleep during training. Looking to his right, Turtwig sees the bunny trainee sleeping atop Tropius; the Bunnelby lies within the long neck Tropius possesses, and Tropius has his face smothered against the ground. Turtwig ignores them and blinks rapidly to fully wake up.

"Ugh, it's always the twin that does the murdering," a voice says from beyond Turtwig's spot. "I hate reading."

Snivy tosses a small, rough-edged book with a light brown cover into the wet grass and frowns. "Are those two going to sleep all morning? Breakfast is in a half-hour and they should be getting ready for the day."

She then looks over to Turtwig and sees that he is awake. She greets him and remarks that he proved to be a tough opponent in the practice that night. He was by far the best battler of the three. However, she explains that Combusken is nothing like a savage.

"…instead, he's more of a punching back. While smacking him around is fun, it's not the same as attacking a savage. He was our best giant, though, so we kind of failed at that part. At least the practice went well!"

Her sleek, crescent-shaped body shines in the upcoming sun. The sharp leaves of her tail are covered in dew, but it makes them seem more tender and loving. They no longer stand dry and uppity, but rather relaxed and comfortable. Snivy seems in a peaceful mood, but then her eyes narrow and a grin appears on her small face.

"Let's battle," she says, "so that I can see what you know."

"Battle?" Turtwig gasps. "I don't know if I'm ready to battle an actual squad member head-to-head…"

"Just shut up and make the first move," she smirks.

Turtwig decides to use Stealth Rock to cover the field in stones. He unleashes at least three dozen of them and puts them all around him so that he's trapped behind a barrier of stones. Snivy, however, springs upward and hits the rocks with her Vine Whip. Turtwig retaliates with a strong Seed Bomb, which thrusts Snivy to the ground upon explosion. Her light body softly landed in the grass, though the impact was not as cushioned as it seemed. However, Snivy effortlessly uses Leaf Blade to slash Turtwig back and then hits with another one to push him further. Turtwig uses several random Razor Leaf attacks, though they all miss and Snivy uses one swift Vine Whip to finally take the turtle down.

"I'm just weak," he says while frowning.

"It's not that," Snivy explains. "Actually, I think you were doing fine until the end. You turned reckless and forgot where the target really was. Your power is right on the mark, but your thoughts are not."

"My turn," a voice from behind announces.

Bunnelby hops up to Snivy and glares at her. Tropius follows closely behind. Snivy smiles and accepts a two-on-one challenge, but she took out Bunnelby in a single hit and knocked Tropius out with a couple of Leaf Blade attacks. She sighs and tells them to keep practicing.

"Keep this lesson to yourselves, you three. This is important. I don't want the general public to have to worry about these types of things yet," she says calmly.

They all agree with a slight nod. Snivy clears her throat and continues talking:

"There will be another expedition soon. I think you guys should stay here, though. Turtwig, you got to go on the last one, so you should definitely stay here since you also get this practice. The other two are also strong defenders so I want them to protect as well. The other trainees can go, but I think you three would be best served in a defensive position for now."

"Tropius and I haven't gotten to go on an expedition yet!" Bunnelby counters, though Snivy looks at him with a serious, although somewhat angered, face.

"I understand," Turtwig sighs, "but I'm going to miss the thrill of battle."

"Now run to the trainee cabin and enter in quietly. Act as though nothing has happened," she finishes, shooing the others off to their home.

As they begin to run, Snivy walks off to the Pokémon Center to check on its status. She heard that Furret was having problems with stitches, so she wants to make sure the Pokémon has some comfort at hand.

The Grass-type Unova starter walks on with a quick pace. Though her feet and stride may be somewhat lacking in length, she proudly and hurriedly arrives at the Pokémon Center in seconds flat. She blinks and then sees that Turtwig's group is gone. Sighing, she enters the doors and begins to wonder "what if" scenarios.

. . .

Trapinch hobbles onto the wall's main western section and sleepily watches as his shift has just started. It is still early in the morning, so he does not have enough energy to keep his eyes completely open. In fact, they are practically shut by the time he gets there.

"One day I will get wings and fly into the old world once again," he mumbles in what seems to be his dreams. The ant-like Pokémon then curls up in a ball and begins to snooze, a snot bubble now coming out of an almost-nonexistent nostril.

_Bang!_ something smashes against the western wall and sends small rocks flying backwards. Trapinch immediately jumps to attention and rubs his beady eyes to see what has caused the disturbance. Surely it is just a trainee doing practice or Frogadier smacking his head on the wall.

When he glances in the direction of the attack, which was actually on the outside of the wall, Trapinch first sees a large horn shining in the moonlight. Soon enough, a brown body similar to a caterpillar appears and the savage Weedle makes its appearance known.

Trapinch runs a little ways on the wall and smacks a sleeping Altaria, who responds with Hyper Voice as a means of an emergency alarm. Soon enough, Fortree City was awake in the middle of early morning. It's about to face yet another attack on the outer wall.

. . .

Within a minute, almost all of the trainees and several of the squad members have arrived for the action—including Snivy, Furret, and Drowzee. They all rush out the gate and confront the giant Bug-type menace. Turtwig, however, is not to be seen…and neither are Bunnelby or Tropius.

"Where are they?" Squirtle panics.

"They must be training still," Fletchinder says with an awkward look on his face.

The savage Weedle rams its horn into the wall, resulting in a powerful blast and a hunk of rock launching into town. Now there is a decently-sized hole within the wall. With overwhelming intensity, most of the trainees now face the fight of their lives. Most of them.

. . .

Turtwig hears the call and begins to walk over to the gate, however a chill ran up his spine and he decides to instead go comfort some of the kids who may have ran to the Pokémon School for shelter. He runs to the wooden elevator and pulls himself up with the rope in his mouth. He runs across some houses and over a few bridges until he finally reaches the school. Seeing a few kids, such as Pansage, Pansear, Panpour, and Swablu, Turtwig decides to grab a book and cover for the sleeping Ms. Miltank.

"Once upon a time, a Pyroar proudly served as king of the jungle," Turtwig starts nervously, obviously trying to block the attack from his mind. However, he then starts talking faster and faster until it's just a jumble of words.

"Oncehisfatherwaskilledinanaccident,PrinceLitleowasforcedtotakethethroneandprotectthejunglefromanypossibleharm," Turtwig speeds through the book faster than he could comprehend.

_Snivy told me to give the others a chance to battle, _Turtwig reminds himself. _I don't need to be on the front lines all the time…_

"Can you continue the story?" the Pansage begs, and so Turtwig nods eagerly and continues on reading.

However, once almost halfway through the story, Turtwig hears screaming and shouting from outside the walls. He tells the kids he has to go and jumps off the tree house platform without using an elevator. He lands in a bush and runs toward the gate's doors. In front of the doors are Tropius and Bunnelby, obviously also worried for their friends.

"I'm going to need a stretcher!" Skitty screeches and she drags a badly scratched Linoone into the city limits.

Chansey and Audino come with a small bedlike structure for Linoone to lie on. The two of them run with him in it in hopes that they will make it in time to operate. Skitty, though, stays behind to monitor the rest. Turtwig walks up to her and leans his head on her shoulder.

"You should try and do something!" she urges.

Behind the other two still, Turtwig rushes out to see the giant, stupid menace—the savage Weedle is actually very tall for its savage species. The Pokémon is drilling holes right in the castle wall, though, so he must kill the thing before he can look at it interestingly.

One of the trainees—Fletchinder, Turtwig believes—attacks Weedle and is slammed into the wall. Seeing this vicious attack stops Turtwig in his tracks: he is frozen. Tropius and Bunnelby run on, but Turtwig doesn't move from his spot. He watches as Fletchinder gets thrown into the crowd, though Turtwig is not sure whether or not he is alive.

"Turtwig! Now is the time to come and help us out!" Snivy screams while she dodges a large amount of Poison from Poison Sting.

Turtwig stares at her in disbelief. He looks from her to the monster and then bolts—he runs for it to save his own skin. Turtwig jogs back into the city where he just might live at least another day.

"What is he doing?!" Snivy says loudly, though the others only shrug.

Turtwig exits the battle and runs on.

. . .

Shuppet's Confuse Ray has at least paused the destruction—Weedle can no longer understand anything visually. Though it is stupid, it seems to be even smarter than the last…it knew where the food was; furthermore, it also knew how to get to it. Squirtle and Marill end the hesitation and blast it with either Water Gun or Aqua Jet, respectively.

Furret grabs a weakened Fennekin and slings him over to Skitty for first aid. Drowzee, meanwhile, uses his Psychic to super effectively levitate the brown-bodied insect off the ground. The attack seems to be severely weakening it.

The other attacks continue. Water Gun, Aqua Jet, Air Slash, Shadow Ball, Vine Whip—you name it and the attack was probably used. However, after about twenty minutes of continuous use, Drowzee's Psychic gives way and he lets the Pokémon fall.

In return for so unkindly lifting it up, the Weedle begins blasting Poison Stings everywhere—at the trees, at the wall, at itself. However, only one sting actually hit a target: Drowzee.

Drowzee was stabbed by the strong attack and pinned against a tree trunk. As blood began to gush from his stomach area, Drowzee faints and begins to lose all chances of surviving. It reminded Snivy of one of those toothpicks that holds a sandwich together since his entrails are still intact.

"Hit the neck!" she squeals despite wanting to keep the location a secret.

Wingull, in the blind fury, manages to use Air Slash on the nape of Weedle's neck, which blasts it into pieces and its somewhat-of-a-skeleton automatically dismantled. Ekans screams and makes a comment about a Poison Sting almost taking his legs off (it was right beside the tip of his tail) and the group laughs.

. . .

However, the battle is far from over. Skitty walks in the waiting room and explains to all the present Pokémon what the real scenario is:

"After much force, the spike was removed from Drowzee's body. Not only that, but he was given a blood transfusion and was patched up nicely. However, the transfusion is not enough to remove the strong traces of poison running through his veins—Drowzee's outlook is pitifully against him. It seems that the poisons from these savages work like attacks: they are much, much stronger and very hard to cure. I don't think we're going to save him in time," she says apologetically.

Snivy frowns to herself. _I don't want to blame anyone, but Turtwig could have helped with the attack. The outcome may have been different had he decided to help. What made him quit like that?_

Snivy's expression is very grave, as is most of the other trainees'. However, they must continue on and honor the loss of Drowzee should the events run through that exact course. They all sniffle, let loose tears, or talk about good times with Drowzee in the city.

Outside the Pokémon Center, right under the window closest to the waiting room, Turtwig listens to the display of the emotions. He himself is crying, but not for Drowzee's certain doom—he has failed Skitty, Snivy, and the rest of the city because he encountered a little stage fright with the savage. He didn't protect Fortree City. He only protected himself.

Author's Note: I did the word mashup as an affect, it was intentional and hopefully allowed.


	15. Chapter 13: Pain

_Chapter 13: Pain_

Purple. Formerly yellow, now purple. The _terrifying_ look of Drowzee's skin causes many of the Pokémon surrounding his hospital bed to cringe that morning. Skitty walks in while balancing her clipboard on her tail. She looks paler than usual. Once she gets the clipboard and glances over the small details of Drowzee's situation, she frowns and sets it face-down on the countertop.

"There isn't much I can do," she says gravely. "His body rejects the Heal Bell I chime, no matter how hard I try. The poison is seeping into his organs, causing all kinds of damage. It's nothing I've ever seen before. It's a matter of hours, to be honest. He isn't going to make it."

Skitty then turns around, tail down, and walks out of the hospital room, into the hallway, and sticks her head in the trashcan to vomit. She looks down to see the hot, burning stomach acids in varying colors from molten orange to sickly green. She hasn't eaten in days due to Drowzee's condition. It gets worse and worse to the point that she can't stomach anything.

"Ma'am?" a voice from behind her asks in a somewhat high, somewhat angry tone.

"What, Frogadier, is the problem _this _time?" Skitty snaps back, baring her teeth.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I didn't come here to be yelled at by a small kitten. I'll just go find Chansey and get her to help me out," the bubble-scarf Pokémon mumbles.

As the blue Pokémon trudges away, Skitty covers her face with her pink tail and tries to coax her stomach to contain itself again. However, she hops right back towards the trash can and unleashes what's left inside of her.

. . .

"What was that stunt you pulled out there?" Snivy, her tail-leaves quivering in anger, interrogates Turtwig with a scowl on her face. "Was that _cowardice?_"

Her sharp brown eyes pierce inside Turtwig's body and look deep in his soul almost as if for the answers, but Turtwig turns his head and shuts his eyes tight. She remains in her spot and begins to tap her cream-colored foot on the ground. They're right outside the western gate, but Turtwig would rather be outside the city than inside with a steaming-mad Snivy.

In response to her demands, Turtwig turns the rest of his body around and trots away toward the trainee cabin. Tears stream from his eyes and fly out into the air, evaporating before they could touch the ground. Summer, though, was coming to a close and everyone has begun to stock up big time for the winter. With the weakened defenses, though, times are tough on everyone. In this case, especially for Turtwig.

"You can't hide forever! You may not be able to hide from the savages, but you especially can't hide from _me_! By the time I catch up to you, you better spill or I'll rip that shell right off your spineless back! You'll be avoiding me next go-around, not the monsters!" Snivy calls out to no one—Turtwig is long gone.

Snivy shakes her smooth head and sighs. Slowly, she begins to follow Turtwig's trail in hopes that she can understand what he's going through. Snivy extends a forest-green vine up and wraps it around one of the posts of the tree house patio. She throws herself aboard and peeks into the house to see Turtwig, balled up and in a corner, crying softly. She touches a gentle vine to his cheek and asks him, this time in a nicer, calmer voice, about what happened.

"I don't know," he says, brushing the vine off.

Snivy freezes, shakes her head as if to return from some trip to another world, and returns the vine to its position on her back. She blinks once, twice, and lowers her eyes to Turtwig's.

"It's okay to be afraid. I've been afraid plenty of times. In fact, I've lost someone very dear to me just for that," Snivy whispers nicely, but then she pauses before continuing. "We just can't let fear dominate our lives. Sometimes, when we lose all of our courage, we just have to think of something—_something_—that can bring it back. What do you care about most, Turtwig?"

Turtwig pauses his weeping and refocuses his vision. What _did_ he care about? He cares about Skitty, and Trapinch, and Shuppet, and Fennekin, and Marill, and Squirtle, and Snivy, but…what does he actually care about? What matters most?

"My family," he says decidedly.

"You have relatives around here?" Snivy asks, confused.

"No. This—Fortree City—is my family. I don't want to lose any of you," Turtwig smiles weakly.

_Well you can't have us all_, Snivy thinks to herself. Instead of saying it out loud, she decides to say something sappy like "that's a great thing to care about."

"I'm going to go see Drowzee," Turtwig sniffs, though he has appeared to have lightened up since Snivy first saw him in the tree house.

"I'll go with you," Snivy says, smiling, and helps him onto the ground with the extension of a vine.

. . .

"Time it," Chansey whispers solemnly.

"3:57 P.M. Unknown date, 2014. Cause of death is poisoning," Skitty continues and decides to mention every bit of information she can without crying.

"Thank you," the Egg Pokémon concludes.

Turtwig and Snivy walk into the hospital room that once belonged to Drowzee, though they both watch in horror as Audino puts the blanket over a purple-bodied thing's face. They silently back out of the doorway and back in the hall. The whole area smells of rotten flesh and organs. Turtwig recognizes the smell from the return trip with Furret. That brown bag had a body in it as well.

. . .

_In the woods an hour later_

Machoke, the town handyman, lifts the limp body, which is still covered in blankets, and sets it in the fresh hole that Trapinch and Bunnelby dug out. Bunnelby then quickly covers the blanketed body in the original dirt and, after a few minutes of work, pats down the remaining bulges in the ground.

"Let us all have a moment of silence for him," Scyther says, the highest Pokémon in command that came outside.

Everyone, including Snivy and Turtwig, close their eyes and wear frowns on their faces. After the silence is over, not much is said until Turtwig breaks the silence.

"This is all my fault," he whispers.

Snivy cringes from that self insult and slaps Turtwig on his yellow cheek. "You did _not _cause Drowzee's death. He couldn't help it—he was just trying to save the city and he got the poison on him. We didn't know it was lethal. Maybe you _should_ go on that expedition and take some time off.

Turtwig, staying silent for over a minute while thinking of a reply, says, "I'm not going. The others need experience. I'm fine; it's just a dip in my mood."

Snivy puts on an almost-microscopic smile and thanks him for understanding. She walks quickly and almost sprints back into the walls of Fortree City because it's never safe outside. At least the walls provide some protection, or at least the thought of it. Turtwig, along with the others, walks on and into the town again, though he leans up against the wall's interior and goes through the actions again in his mind.

. . .

The bed is clean, the bathroom is clean, the floor is clean, and the atmosphere is clean, though each individual aspect of Drowzee's former hospital room has caused only sweat and irritation for the weak-stomached Skitty. She scrubs the tiled floor with a small sponge and tries to clean up any residue or blood that may've seeped into the cracks. The occasional tear runs down her face, though she seems hardened by the sudden death. Once finally done cleaning the room, Skitty goes out the door, through the hallway, and into the Pokémon Center's lobby.

"Please, my head is _killing_ me!" a familiarly annoying voice can be heard from across the room. Skitty doesn't bother looking toward it because she knows exactly who it is.

"Frogadier," a voice, seemingly in the same mood as Skitty, says, "I have your meds right here. If you just calm down, breathe deeply, and take your medication as prescribed, your headache will be gone in a matter of minutes."

Audino slams the small bag of pills (they quickly ran out of bottles and Frogadier collects them, so he does not like reusing them) into Frogadier's chest, turns him around, and suggests him to take the path outside.

"Does life have to be so miserable?" Skitty asks herself, but she knows the answer before she even finished speaking. Of course.

. . .

Trapinch sits hunched-over on the castle wall and looks over the miles of treetops. The green sea is almost like a giant pillow—Trapinch would love to just jump off a high diving board and land in the cushiony leaves. The solemn day has ruined his generally neutral mood.

_Boom!_ a loud noise can be heard far away, and soon after several birds began to fly straight up in the sky as if they were avoiding something. Trapinch, even when squinting, is unable to distinguish any activity, so he continues to glance back at the area when scanning the other directions.

There is no other noise after that. He waits the whole day before standing upright, so he finally gets teleported to the ground and heads to bed. After finally making it to the tree house, Trapinch just falls over in his sandy bed and snores loudly without even regarding the fact that someone in the room is still awake.

. . .

Turtwig shifts back and forth within his covers. With nightmares of the savages he has faced, the Nosepass, the Munchlax, and the Weedle, he cannot get over their unknowing stares, the emptiness in their eyes. To get his mind off them, though, he decides to take a walk around town and wear himself down to almost instant sleep.

Turtwig slips down the rope ladder and lands with a _ker-plunk!_ on the ground. He then turns around and begins his quick jog. Once he reaches the other side of town, where some of the squad members live, he decides to take a breather and sits against the tall, brown tree trunk.

"Well aren't you a little suspicious, running around all night and all," says a voice from above. As Turtwig glances up toward the voice, a barely-familiar Pokémon slips down on her vines and lands beside him.

Chikorita looks him up and down before smiling brightly. She reveals that she, too, couldn't sleep at all. However, it was because she drank three cans of soda before trying to close her eyes.

"I can't just _not _drink it—I have a stash and everything, but don't tell anyone!" she giggles.

"What do you know about savages?"

"I've only personally met one—a giant Nosepass," she recounts. "I've battled against a few here and there, but that Nosepass caught me by surprise.

Upon hearing her say the name, Turtwig immediately thought back to earlier in his Fortree days:

_Standing right in front of him—standing right over the wall, like a teenager about to step over a speed bump, is the giant Pokémon. It doesn't make a move, and neither does Turtwig. They both just stare at each other. Even though it's dark, Turtwig can make out some details of the Pokémon. It has a long, red nose that stands out as its biggest feature. It has a stone texture to its body, including arms and legs, that makes it look impenetrable. _

_This Pokémon—Turtwig identifies it as a Nosepass—is normally only three feet tall…but, to him, it seems to be about three hundred feet tall. His feet go cold. His heart starts beating faster than a rapper can spit out words. His brain freezes, all activity paused momentarily as Turtwig's life may now be over. The Pokémon looks sternly at him, though it does not have full consciousness. It appears to be some sort of lifeless body…like a zombie. Turtwig blinks hard, and then hears it:_

_Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!_

_It's gone._

"Turtwig? Hello?" Chikorita confusingly asks him, and Turtwig snaps back to attention upon hearing his name.

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking of a similar experience," he explains.

"Well," she says, "I wish you a good night. I'm going to get some shut eye."

With that, Chikorita gives a small smile and begins climbing the rope ladder with her two vines.

"I really need a pair of those," Turtwig whispers to himself.

Chikorita waves as her face gets slightly red for some reason. She turns around, back completely exposed for Turtwig's eyes, and slowly walks back in the house as if she was on some sort of modeling contract.

Turtwig begins back towards his own cabin. By the time that he does manage to get to his bed, he passes own halfway on the pillow and dreams about each of his friends dying one by one. Only he survives. Oddly enough, he continues with the dream instead of waking up.


End file.
